The film heritage is preserved by the Federal Film Archives, which operates from Berlin and six other cities.

On November l, 1895, Max Skladanowsky made history by presenting the first "living pictures" in Berlin, followed a month later by France's Lumiere showing their first films in a Paris cafe.

"In fact, cinema was invented in several places around the world at almost the same time," says Karl Griep, a departmental head at the archives office in Berlin.

"We have the Skladanowsky film in our archives, along with many other historical works," says Griep, noting that his archive is one of the most comprehensive in the world, documenting more than 100 years of movie history.

Since the establishment of the Federal Film Archives in the 1950s, it has acquired a vast collection of films of all genres, catalogued and, in some cases, digitally restored.

"We seek a wide variety of films, refusing to restrict ourselves purely to top cultural and famous feature productions," Griep explains.

"This means our collection is comprehensive, and reflects the society, fashion and cultural tastes of Germany at different periods, from the silent movie era onwards, through the Weimar and Nazi periods to the present time."Visitors from many parts of the world come to the archives every month.