Donnerstagskino – Thursday Cinema
On the first Thursday of every month, the lecture hall of the Ethnographic Museum is transformed into a small cinema.
Various documentaries and feature films are shown that otherwise rarely flutter across Zurich's screens. Under the title "Social Anthropological Topics of the Time" ("Ethnologische Themen der Zeit"), we offer insights into distant and close everyday life and tell stories of other ways of living and realities.
The films will be introduced briefly. Admission is free; reservations are usually not necessary.
Names in Motion – A Film Series
Fall Semester 2026 / Spring Semester 2027
The Völkerkunde?museum is looking for a new name. With this film series we explore how names are contested, erased, or newly imagined. How do communities around the globe name people, streets, territories or plants? The seven selected films move between the intimacy of personal names and the politics of renaming. They examine naming as a site of power, memory, and resistance. In conjunction with the exhibition "Renaming – People, Things, Places" the screenings invite you to reflect on what it means to (re-)name the worlds we inhabit.
Thursday, 10 September 2026, 7 pm
"Prénoms" Film by Nurith Aviv, France, 2026, 82'; French, with English subtitles.
Thursday, 1 October 2026, 7 pm
"Nel Mio Nome" Film by Nicolò Bassetti, Italy, 2022, 93'; Italian, with English subtitles.
Thursday, 5 November 2026, 7 pm
"My Name is Eeooow" Film by Oinam Doren, India, 2016, 52'; English, Khasi, with English subtitles.
Thursday, 4 March 2027, 19 Uhr
"təm kʷaθ nan (Namesake)" Film by ƛɛsla Evan Adams & t̓agəm Eileen Francis, Canada, 2026, 76'; Languages: English, ʔayʔajuθəm; English subtitles.
Thursday, 8 April 2027, 7 pm
"Moonlight" Film by Barry Jenkins, USA, 2016, 111'; Language: English; German subtitles.
Thursday, 13 May 2027, 7 pm
"Toroboro: El Nombre de las Plantas" Film by Manolo Sarmiento, Ecuador/Brazil, 2024, 103'; Languages: Spanish, Wao Tededo; English subtitles.
Thursday, 3 June 2027, 7 pm
"Die wundersame Verwandlung der Arbeiterklasse in Ausländer" Film by Samir, Switzerland, 2024, 131'; Languages: Italien, German; German subtitles. Filmmaker Samir will be present at the screening.
Download Flyer (PDF, 1 MB)
You can find our complete current programme of events in our calendar.
Discover past film series in the archive.