Neue Zukunft

Neue Zukunft in Berlin is a 180-capacity concert room whose defining feature is its shared life with an independent cinema complex. The site combines the live room with Kino Zukunft, a 66-seat screen, a bar and terrace, plus a seasonal open-air cinema. That gives shows a close-range scale and a setting shaped by film culture, reclaimed railway buildings and a place to linger before or after the set.

A cinema collective’s second home

The story begins south of Ostkreuz, where members of the Tilsiter Lichtspiele collective opened the original Zukunft in autumn 2011 inside a former PROGRESS Film Verleih film-storage building on Laskerstraße. It housed cinemas, a bar and beer garden, exhibitions, theatre and the Tiefgrund music club. The site’s lease was terminated in August 2021; the property was cleared in autumn 2023, ending that chapter after nearly twelve years.

A short distance away, the collective found Alt-Stralau 68, a group of former railway buildings. A major clean-up and build-out followed. The bar had its soft opening in September 2023, Kino Zukunft opened on December 9, 2023, and the cinema entered neighbourhood programming during the February 2024 Berlinale. The outdoor cinema began its first season at the new grounds on April 30, 2024, completing a move that retained the project’s cinema-first identity while making room for concerts again.

The room today

Neue Zukunft’s booking philosophy comes from its operators’ stated aim of building a home for subculture, art and concerts beyond commercial priorities. Expect eclectic alternative and underground-facing bills, with the programme sharing space with repertory and international film screenings. The 180-capacity concert room keeps the crowd compact; the bar and outdoor terrace give arrivals and post-show conversations somewhere to land. In summer, the adjoining open-air cinema adds a beer garden and grill to the wider grounds.