With its record-breaking 2024 edition bringing together 90 000 spectators in over 600 cinemas from 46 countries worldwide, the upcoming 10th European Arthouse Cinema Day will make a global statement for (film-)cultural diversity, equity and dialogue across borders.

One global day of action that unites arthouse cinemas and their audiences from Ukraine to Bangladesh, from Venezuela to South Korea: The European Arthouse Cinema Day (www.artcinemaday.org) is the oldest, largest and most significant film-political initiative in the world. Its 10th edition will return on 23 November 2025 and bring together audiences, arthouse cinemas, and film professionals worldwide to take a stand for the values of independent cinemas.

CICAE President Dr. Christian Bräuer: “The European Arthouse Cinema Day is a brilliant global initiative that unites the diverse facets of the arthouse scene. It showcases our collective strengths and reminds the world that arthouse cinemas are vital cultural pillars, embodying the values that make our societies unique. On this day, we not only celebrate the diversity of independent filmmaking and cinema as a unique collective and discursive space. The day also serves to strengthen the competitiveness of this unique ecosystem of independent filmmakers, producers, festivals, world sales, distributors and cinemas.”

In its ten-year history, the European Arthouse Cinema Day, initiated by the global non- profit International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas – CICAE, has brought together over 500 000 spectators, filmmakers, and arthouse cinemas from more than 50 countries on all continents.

In times of global crises and societal polarisation, in which the pluralist democratic order seems increasingly under threat in many places across the world, on European Arthouse Cinema Day, the globe’s independent cinemas join hands to make a clear statement in defence of pluralist democracy, equity, and cross-cultural cooperation. For this unique joint film cultural action, hundreds of participating cinemas collaborate across borders to organise special screenings and bespoke programmes, events and Q&As for audiences of all backgrounds to highlight the diverse cultural power and economic resilience of European film. Supported by dozens of prominent ambassadors over the years that include Wim Wenders, Ruben Östlund, Celine Sciamma, Agnieszka Holland or Levan Akin as well as political patrons such as the French and German ministers for culture and the First Vice President of the European parliament, Sabine Verheyen, they make it clear that arthouse cinemas stand in defence of film-cultural liberty; anytime, anywhere.

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Founded in 1955, the CICAE (Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d’Art et d’Essai) is a non-profit association and the global representative of arthouse cinemas; bringing together over 2400 independent movie theatres with more than 4400 screens in 45 countries through the collaboration of twelve national and regional arthouse cinema networks (in France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Venezuela and the Network of Arab Alternative Screens), as well as individual cinemas, not yet represented by a national network, and festivals across the world. www.cicae.org. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the CICAE and, with it, seven decades since the birth of the global arthouse movement.