Cinémathèque Suisse
Cinémathèque Suisse is Switzerland's national non-profit film archive. It preserves, restores, and exhibits Swiss and international cinema heritage through owned cinema venues, curated programming, and online channels, serving the general public, researchers, and filmmakers under public-funder mandate.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1948
- HeadquartersLausanne, Switzerland
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Cinémathèque Suisse does
Cinémathèque Suisse is Switzerland's national film archive, operating as a non-profit cultural institution responsible for the preservation, restoration, and public presentation of Swiss and international cinema heritage. It maintains an extensive film collection — including prints, videotapes, and digital assets — that constitutes a public-good cultural resource under a national mandate. The organization operates cinema and exhibition venues across multiple Swiss locations, programs retrospectives, festivals, themed exhibitions, and educational/research activities, and provides online access channels to broaden audience reach.
Its core "products" are curatorial: archival preservation, film restoration, curated screenings and exhibitions, and reference/research services to scholars, filmmakers, and the general public. Underlying technical capability centers on film-preservation infrastructure (climate-controlled vaults, restoration laboratories, format-migration workflows) rather than a software platform. Distribution is delivered through owned cinema venues, traveling exhibitions, partnerships with film festivals, and online programming.
The business model is that of a publicly funded cultural institution. Revenue derives principally from Swiss federal and cantonal government grants and subsidies, supplemented by ticketing, membership/friends-of-the-cinemathèque contributions, restoration commissions, and ancillary commercial activity (venue hire, publications). There is no venture-style monetization; instead, the institution operates under a public-mandate cost-recovery framework where grant cycles, not unit economics, determine capacity. Customer segments are best understood as three constituencies: public funders (government), professional users (researchers, filmmakers, rights-holders), and the general attending public.
Cinémathèque Suisse firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cinémathèque Suisse
- Legal name
- Cinémathèque suisse
- Website
- https://cinematheque.ch
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1948
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Cinémathèque Suisse is Switzerland's national non-profit film archive. It preserves, restores, and exhibits Swiss and international cinema heritage through owned cinema venues, curated programming, and online channels, serving the general public, researchers, and filmmakers under public-funder mandate.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cinémathèque Suisse industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Film Archive and Cultural Heritage Services
- NAICS
- Museums (71211), Motion Picture and Video Exhibition (51213)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Archival Preservation & Conservation (Handling, Storage, Environmental Controls) (MPADAMAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Screening Rooms & Cinematheques (Nonprofit/Institutional) (MPADAKAF), Access & Distribution for Archives (Restored Masters, DCP Creation, Screening Deliverables) (MPADAMAJ)
Keywords
Where Cinémathèque Suisse is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lausanne
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
Cinémathèque Suisse business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Cinema Operations: Revenue from ticket sales and subscriptions for film screenings at the Capitole cinema in Lausanne, including two screening rooms (Salle Freddy Buache with 718 seats and Salle Lucienne Schnegg with 140 seats).
- Subscription Packages: Multi-entry cards and annual subscriptions including 10-entry cards (CHF 120), 20-entry cards (CHF 200), 5-entry cards for seniors (CHF 50), and annual subscriptions (CHF 400).
- Film Distribution Services: Licensing and distribution of films from the collection to cinemas, film clubs, festivals, and cultural organizations across Switzerland and internationally. The catalog includes 142 films available for distribution.
- Retail Operations: The film boutique at Capitole sells DVD and Blu-ray collection boxes, books, posters, postcards, and other cinema-related merchandise. Also sells tickets for all screenings.
- Image and Footage Licensing: Provides fixed images and film excerpts to professionals from media, museums, film production, and research sectors upon request for licensing fees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Per ticket | Regular cinema admission |
| Unit Pricing | Per ticket | Reduced admission |
| Unit Pricing | Per ticket | Children under 12 |
| Unit Pricing | Per ticket | Passculture rate |
| Unit Pricing | Per ticket | Cultissime card rate |
| Unit Pricing | Per ticket | School screenings |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | 10-entry card (transferable) |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | 20-entry card (transferable) |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | 5-entry card (non-transferable) |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual subscription |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Cinémathèque Suisse product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cinémathèque Suisse preserves, restores, and shares Swiss and international film heritage through its two-screen cinema at the Capitole in Lausanne, an archive of roughly 100,000 film titles and 210,000 km of film stock, a restoration laboratory, and a distribution catalog of 142 films. It also runs cultural outreach programs, a film boutique, school screenings, professional image licensing, and research services.
Product overview
Cinémathèque Suisse operates as a film archive and cinema institution with two core departments: the Film Department managing over 85,000 film titles and 210 million meters of film, and the Non-Film Department preserving diverse collections including archives, photographs, posters, books, scripts, and cinematographic objects. The institution offers multiple services including film distribution (142 films in catalog), school screenings, cultural outreach programs (Passculture, Ciné-familles, Cinémadeleine), room rentals at Cinema Capitole, image ordering for professionals, donations/deposits management, and consultation services at research centers in Penthaz and Zurich. Online platforms provide access to restored films (Vimeo, Play Suisse, filmo.ch), Swiss Film Weekly archive (Memobase), virtual exhibitions (Home), and the Repérages academic journal. The recently reopened Capitole cinema houses two screening rooms and a film boutique.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Le Passculture fait son cinéma: Youth program in collaboration with Passculture offering preferential rates for young people in education at the Capitole cinema
- Ciné-familles
- Cinémadeleine
- Repérages
- Home
- Filmboutique
Products and services
- Cinema Screenings at Capitole
- Cinema Subscription Packages
- Film Distribution Catalog
- Filmboutique (Film Boutique)
- School Screenings
- Image Ordering Service (Commande d'images)
- Room/Space Rental
- Cultural Outreach Programs
- Consultation and Visits
- Swiss Film Weekly (Ciné-Journal suisse) Archive
Quantifiable outcome
- 40 short films and 6-7 feature films restored annually
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Cinémathèque Suisse
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Cinémathèque Suisse technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
AI capability2 records
Feature3 records
Cinémathèque Suisse partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- University of Lausanne (UNIL)coreOfficial partnership since 2010 with three focus areas: research and development of Cinémathèque collections, seminars and film screenings, and cultural mediation. Led to over a dozen SNF research projects and the publication 'Histoire du cinéma suisse 1966–2000'.
- Cinema CH NetworkcoreCooperation project for education at Master's and Doctorate levels between universities, established in 2006 with UNIL as a key partner.
- FIAF (International Federation of Film Archives)coreThe Cinémathèque Suisse is a member of FIAF, the International Federation of Film Archives, which recognizes it as one of the ten most important film archives in the world.
- University of Zurich (UZH)coreLong-standing research partnership with UZH's Film Studies seminar, providing funding for research projects and publications, student internships, and archival training.
- MemoriavcoreAssociation supporting the preservation of Swiss audiovisual heritage. Collaborates with external laboratories for film restoration, supporting approximately 40 short films and 6-7 feature films restored annually.
- DGEP (Direction générale de l'enseignement postobligatoire) - Canton VaudcoreCollaboration on the Passculture program providing CHF 5 access to cinema for young people in education throughout the 2025-2026 season.
- CEC (Centre d'Enseignement et de Consultation)corePartner in the Passculture program, providing pedagogical materials and educational support for the youth cinema initiative.
- Festival Cinéma Jeune PublicminorCollaboration on the Ciné-familles program providing monthly family-friendly film screenings.
- Pro Senectute VaudminorCollaboration on the Cinémadeleine program providing monthly film screenings for seniors and intergenerational audiences.
- MemobasecoreDigital platform hosting the complete Swiss Film Journal collection (1940-1975) with nearly 200 hours of content and 6,000+ topics.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Cinémathèque Suisse competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cinémathèque de Toulouse: French regional cinematheque operating conservation, restoration, and public screening programs, and one of the larger provincial French film archives. Directly comparable as a smaller-scale cinematheque with active restoration output and educational programming.
- BFI National Archive: The UK national film archive under the British Film Institute, one of the largest film archives globally. Direct peer on archive scale, restoration operations, public screenings (BFI Southbank), and educational/research programming, with analogous public-funding reliance.
- EYE Filmmuseum: The Dutch national museum and archive for film in Amsterdam, consolidating collections from earlier Dutch archives. Comparable scope across conservation, public screenings, exhibitions, and educational programming, with a strong FIAF affiliation.
- Deutsche Kinemathek: Germany's federal film museum and archive in Berlin, combining a major film collection, public exhibition (Filmmuseum Potsdam), and educational programming. Comparable nonprofit operating model and collection scope within the German-speaking cinema ecosystem.
- Cinemateca Portuguesa: Portugal's national film archive in Lisbon, combining a major moving-image collection, restoration work, public screenings, and cultural mediation under a single public institution. Closely aligned mission and revenue model to Cinémathèque Suisse.
- Cinémathèque française: The French national film archive and cinematheque in Paris, founded in 1936. Closest functional peer to Cinémathèque Suisse: combines film conservation, restoration laboratory, public screenings, educational programming, and distribution under a single nonprofit umbrella with comparable FIAF standing.
- Austrian Film Museum:
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cinémathèque Suisse social profiles
Digital presenceCinémathèque Suisse financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cinémathèque Suisse leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Cinémathèque Suisse funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cinémathèque Suisse M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cinémathèque Suisse
What does Cinémathèque Suisse do?
Cinémathèque Suisse preserves, restores, and shares Swiss and international film heritage through its two-screen cinema at the Capitole in Lausanne, an archive of roughly 100,000 film titles and 210,000 km of film stock, a restoration laboratory, and a distribution catalog of 142 films. It also runs cultural outreach programs, a film boutique, school screenings, professional image licensing, and research services.
Is Cinémathèque Suisse a public or private company?
Cinémathèque Suisse is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Cinémathèque Suisse founded?
Cinémathèque Suisse was founded in 1948. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Cinémathèque Suisse based?
Cinémathèque Suisse is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Cinémathèque Suisse make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Cinema Operations are the primary driver. The others are subscription Packages, film Distribution Services, retail Operations and image and Footage Licensing.
Who are Cinémathèque Suisse's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cinémathèque de Toulouse, BFI National Archive, EYE Filmmuseum, Deutsche Kinemathek, Cinemateca Portuguesa, Cinémathèque française and Austrian Film Museum.
Does Cinémathèque Suisse have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cinémathèque Suisse.
What industry is Cinémathèque Suisse in?
Cinémathèque Suisse's product category is Film Archive and Cultural Heritage Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADAMAF, Archival Preservation & Conservation (Handling, Storage, Environmental Controls), with a secondary code of MPADAKAF, Screening Rooms & Cinematheques (Nonprofit/Institutional). Its NAICS code is 71211 and its SIC code is 7830.