Fondation des Cinémas du Grütli

What Fondation des Cinémas du Grütli does

Fondation des Cinémas du Grütli is a non-profit cultural foundation operating an art-house cinema in central Geneva at Rue du Général-Dufour 16. The institution runs two auditoriums — Salle Michel Simon and Salle Henri Langlois — and programs a curated slate of art-house, classic, and contemporary films, including retrospectives, director tributes (e.g., the 2025 Hommage à David Lynch), themed series (Le Cinéma des Aîné·e·s for seniors, Jeune public for young audiences), Q&A sessions, and filmmaker encounters. The foundation also operates a small-scale film distribution arm. It is a member of the Europa Cinemas network and maintains core programming partnerships with Cinémathèque suisse and the co-located Maison des arts du Grütli.

The business model is a hybrid of consumer ticket revenue and institutional public/private funding. Standard tickets are priced at CHF 10 and senior tickets at CHF 5, sold through the box office and the advance-ticket.ch online platform. Operating subsidies and grants come from the Canton de Genève, Ville de Genève, Loterie Romande, Fondation Sandoz, and Fondation Leenaards. Marketing is conducted via social media (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter/X, Instagram), a weekly email newsletter, the institutional website, and cross-promotion with cultural partners and press coverage. The organization employs 12 people and has no disclosed technology or digital product platform beyond standard web and ticketing tooling.

Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. The foundation targets three audience segments: a general art-house cinema audience, a senior audience (Aîné·e·s), and a young audience (Jeune public) including school groups. Its value proposition centers on access to curated, non-mainstream cinema, restored prints, and auteur programming that is not available at commercial multiplexes in Geneva, alongside its role as a community gathering space for film culture.

Name

Fondation des Cinémas du Grütli

Legal name

Les Cinémas du Grütli

Website

https://cinemas-du-grutli.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fondation des Cinémas du Grütli is a non-profit foundation operating a two-screen art-house cinema in Geneva, curating retrospectives, auteur cinema, and themed series for general, senior, and young audiences, funded by ticket sales and public/private cultural grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Art-house Cinema Exhibition

NAICS

Motion Picture Theaters (except Drive-Ins) (512131), Motion Picture and Video Distribution (51212)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829)

akta.pro primary industry

Independent & Art-house Cinemas (MPADAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Screening Rooms & Cinematheques (Nonprofit/Institutional) (MPADAKAF)

Keywords

• Art-house cinema
• Film exhibition
• Film retrospectives
• Cultural programming
• Independent cinema

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from selling tickets for film screenings. Individual showings are sold at standard rates with special pricing for seniors and certain events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Les Cinémas du Grütli is a non-profit art-house cinema foundation operating two auditoriums (Salle Michel Simon and Salle Henri Langlois) in central Geneva that screens curated art-house films, restored classic prints, director retrospectives, and themed film series. Offerings include regular public screenings, senior-focused programming (Le Cinéma des Aîné·e·s), young-audience programming (Jeune public), school screenings, filmmaker Q&A sessions, and special events staged in collaboration with cultural institutions. The cinema sells tickets at the box office and through the advance-ticket.ch online platform, with a standard adult price of CHF 10 and a reduced senior price of CHF 5.

Product overview

Les Cinémas du Grütli is an independent cinema foundation located at Rue du Général-Dufour 16 in Geneva, Switzerland. The cinema operates multiple screening rooms (including Salle Michel Simon and Salle Henri Langlois) and offers a diverse programming of art-house, classic, and contemporary films. Their offerings include regular screenings, retrospectives of notable filmmakers (such as David Lynch, Wim Wenders, Abbas Kiarostami), themed film series (Le Cinéma des Aîné·e·s for seniors, programming for young audiences), special events with filmmaker encounters, and film distribution services. The cinema publishes weekly programs and maintains an archive of past screenings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Art-house cinema screenings (Salle Michel Simon and Salle Henri Langlois)
• Le Cinéma des Aîné·e·s (senior film programming) Curated film programming aimed at elderly viewers in Geneva, with post-screening discussions and reduced CHF 5 admission to support accessibility.
• Jeune public / Scolaire (youth and school screenings) Film programming and school screenings tailored to children, families, and educational institutions in Geneva.
• Director retrospectives and filmmaker encounters Themed retrospectives of notable filmmakers featuring complete or curated filmography screenings, often combined with Q&A sessions and filmmaker encounters at the Geneva venue.
• Film distribution services Film distribution services offered by the foundation, as listed in the website's main navigation under the Distribution section.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Cinémathèque suissecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss national film archive and cinema institution. Partnership in screening collaborations and cultural programming for film heritage preservation.
• Canton de GenèvecoreOthersGovernmental funding and support from the Canton of Geneva for cultural operations.
• Ville de GenèvecoreOthersMunicipal government funding and support from the City of Geneva for cultural programming.
• Maison des arts du GrütlicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-located cultural center sharing the Grütli complex. Joint programming and cultural collaboration.
• Europa CinemascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean cinema network supporting art-house cinemas. Provides networking, programming support, and audience development initiatives.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Le Champo: Historic Parisian art-house cinema programming auteur films, retrospectives, and curated festivals. Highly comparable to Grütli in curatorial depth, two-screen independent model, and auteur-focused audience.
• Kino Kunsthaus / Arthouse Kinos Zürich: Art-house cinema attached to the Kunsthaus Zürich museum, programming auteur films, retrospectives, and curated series. Comparable to Grütli's institutional-cinema model combining curatorial depth with public cultural access.
• BFI Southbank: Cultural cinema run by the British Film Institute, programming retrospectives, classics, festivals, and filmmaker events. Comparable to Grütli in nonprofit cultural mission, multi-track programming, and audience-development focus.
• Cinémathèque suisse: Swiss national film archive operating as a cultural cinema institution. Closely comparable to Grütli in mission (film heritage, retrospectives, curated programming) and in nonprofit/public funding model, and already a direct programming partner of Grütli.
• Stadtkino Basel: Independent art-house cinema in Basel, Switzerland, with comparable programming of auteur films, retrospectives, and special events. Operates on a similar nonprofit/cultural model serving a Swiss German-speaking audience.
• Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst: Berlin-based independent film archive and art-house cinema programming retrospectives and curated auteur seasons. Highly comparable to Grütli in curatorial mission and nonprofit cultural-institution model.
• Kino Rex Bern: Independent art-house cinema in Bern programming auteur films, retrospectives, and festival selections. Comparable to Grütli in scale (small team, curated programming) and Swiss nonprofit exhibition model.
• RiffRaff Kino Zürich: Independent art-house cinema in Zürich with comparable programming of contemporary auteur films and curated retrospectives. Operates a similar cultural-mission, single-location model within the Swiss cinema ecosystem.

Others

• Europa Cinemas: European network of art-house cinemas in which Grütli participates. Indirectly comparable as the institutional ecosystem that supports programming, audience development, and visibility for independent cinemas like Grütli.

Broad incumbents

• Pathé Suisse: Largest cinema chain in Switzerland operating mainstream multiplexes. Comparable as a same-country cinema operator but differs fundamentally in scale, commercial positioning, and programming (mainstream releases vs. auteur retrospectives).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cinmasdugrtli
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCr39ruK62EjUm4JEyZQ0eTA
• Facebookfacebook.com/cinemas.grutli
• Instagraminstagram.com/lescinemasdugrutli
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fondation-des-cin%C3%A9mas-du-gr%C3%BCtli

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fondation des Cinémas du Grütli