The ownership of the Hof Galeriehaus has now been taken over by the Cine Center Hof e.V., the sponsoring organization of the Hof International Film Festival. On 19 June 2018, the board of the Cine Center and Dr. Karl Schmidt, previous owner of the property, signed the sales agreement. Thanks to the generous donations which came together through the crowdfunding campaign of the VR-Bank, the Cine Center could acquire the building. The Galeriehaus is to be preserved as a cultural location, which was of paramount importance to Dr. Schmidt and which the Cine Center can now guarantee. The chairwoman of the Cine Center Hof e.V., Ana Radica:
“It’s wonderful that we now have the Galeriehaus and and can redevelop it. We are very pleased that we were able to come to an uncomplicated agreement with Dr. Schmidt. It has always been our common goal to maintain the ‘primal cell’ of the Hof International Film Festival. This helped to build trust and provided the basis for a successful change of ownership. Now we can carry on with our plans.”
The deputy chairman, Andreas Walter, also added: “With this change of ownership, a circle is now completed.” The banker Dr. Karl Gerhard Schmidt was the first person to support the Hof International Film Festival when it all began back in 1967. He bought the building on the Sophienberg which then, under Werner Weinelt’s “direction” achieved cult status as the Galeriehaus and was for decades a meeting point for filmmakers during the festival.
And this is what the Galeriehaus is to become again.
Photo: After notarisation of the sales contract, left to right: Dr. Karl Gerhard Schmidt and the members of the board of the Cine Center Hof e.V., Christine Walther, Ana Radica and Andreas Walter.
