The King Kong: Between Cinephilia and Activism
24 May - 7 Sep 2025
From 1974 to 1982, the King Kong cultural centre in Antwerp was a vibrant meeting place where film, debate and activism converged. Alongside a broad selection of film classics and recent arthouse cinema, King Kong also offered a platform for socially engaged documentaries, feminist films, queer cinema and the revolutionary ‘Third Cinema’. The programme was supported by the association De Andere Film (DAF), which screened films outside the commercial circuit, often accompanied by introductions and discussions that addressed their topical relevance and ideological undercurrents.
This archival presentation — a collaboration between M HKA and the University of Antwerp’s Master’s programme in Theatre and Film Studies — highlights the unique role King Kong played in Antwerp’s cultural landscape. As part of the ‘Research Seminar in Film History’, students reconstruct the history of King Kong’s film programming, drawing on DAF’s extensive archive, which was donated to M HKA in 2023. The archive, which includes an extensive collection of film posters, offers new insights into the workings of the film house and sheds light on its social impact.
To mark this archival presentation, De Cinema — M HKA’s film programme — will present a series of screenings that revive the spirit of King Kong. These screenings offer a new generation the opportunity to experience these films in the context for which they were originally intended: as part of a vibrant cultural and social debate.
This archival presentation was compiled by Maurits Callewaert, Luna Cortes Osorio, Yana De Gryse, Nora El Sayed, Noortje De Meyere, Willem Luyten, Hannah Matthys, Marie-Julie Van de Sijpe, Amélie Vanhaecht and Marie Wens (MA students Theatre and Film Studies, University of Antwerp), under the supervision of Dr. Liesje Baltussen and Prof. Dr. Steven Jacobs.
Programme at De Cinema
To accompany this archive presentation, De Cinema, the film division of M HKA, is organising a screening series that revives the spirit of King Kong. In doing so, a new generation will have the opportunity to discover these films in the context in which they were originally intended: as part of a lively cultural and societal debate.
