About us
What we do
The Newcastle German Kino Society is a member‑based organisation in Newcastle, Australia, created for people who enjoy German films and want to connect with like-minded people.
Dates: From February to November, we screen German movies (in German with English subtitles) on the fourth Monday of each month.
Location: The Base Health, 3 Tudor Street, Newcastle West
Time: Doors open at 6:30pm, and the movie begins at 7:00pm.
Extras: The nights also include a free German book exchange, and we often complement the evenings with German culinary treats.
Join us for friendly conversation, foreign films, and the chance to explore German language and culture.
Who we are (committee)
The club and regular movie screenings are organised by our enthusiastic committee consisting of Dr Andrea Cassin, Andrea Hroptop, Dr Jaime Hunt (films), Maja Johnston, Chevy Lester, and Claudia Todorovic (in alphabetical order, elected May 2026).
Our History
The Club was founded in 2012 by Petra Hilsen and Claudia Speight under the name Deutscher Stammtisch. Its purpose - then and now- has been to offer a welcoming forum where German native speakers and interested members of the wider community can meet, chat, and socialise.
What began as a small group of around ten people meeting monthly on Monday nights at The Great Northern Hotel soon grew. The group’s interest in screening and discussing films and books led to the club’s first movie night, hosted using the pub’s facilities.
When The Great Northern Hotel later stopped opening on Mondays, the club found itself without a venue for several months. In 2012, a new collaboration with The Royal Exchange Theater provided a fresh home and renewed momentum. Continued growth eventually prompted another move in 2020, when the club relocated its screenings to a larger space at The Base Health.
Special Events
The first major special movie event took place in 2012 at the Tower Cinema. The event, titled Eine Kleine Filmfest, was promoted by the Newcastle Herald - which also inadvertently introduced the now‑famous promotional misspelling. The festival featured two German films, Die Wunderkinder and Lore, alongside an art space showcasing a variety of exhibits. Authentic German catering was provided by Oma’s Kitchen, a German restaurant formerly located on Bolton Street in Newcastle.
Following the success of Eine Kleine Filmfest, Claudia Speight initiated a German film event for schools in early 2013 in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut. This partnership led to a screening of Das Fliegende Klassenzimmer at the Tower Cinemas on King Street, attended by students from a Newcastle high school in September 2013.
Another collaboration between the Goethe Institut and Tower Cinema brought the Goethe Audi Festival of German Films to the Hunter region in April 2014, featuring the award‑winning film Hannah Arendt. As interest continued to grow, it became clear that the club needed to formalise its structure. In mid‑2013, a steering committee, comprising Claudia Speight, Petra Hilsen, Andrea Hropot, Geoff See, and Gerhard Rutsch, was formed to establish the Newcastle German Kino Society Inc. (NGKS).
In 2023, the Newcastle German Kino Society celebrated its ten‑year anniversary in the beautiful courtyard at The Base Health. The celebration featured German Bratwurst, beer, pretzels, and a wide array of other delicious foods and drinks, along with a lively round of German trivia. During the event, the club honoured its founding members and decade‑long members with engraved Steins, the traditional German beer mugs.