The Danish Film Institute's cinematheque — three screens in the heart of Indre By programming with the quiet authority of a national film institution. Cinemateket mirrors Oslo's model: restored classics, director retrospectives, thematic seasons, and Danish film history treated as a living archive rather than a closed chapter. The building also houses the DFI's library, archive, and a café that functions as Copenhagen's unofficial film industry canteen. The programming balances international cinema history with Danish film — the retrospectives of Dreyer, von Trier, and Vinterberg sit alongside surveys of Japanese, Iranian, and Latin American cinema. The café-bar, with its film-poster-covered walls and canal-adjacent terrace, is worth visiting even without a screening.
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Check the monthly programme for the Danish film retrospectives — seeing Dreyer's Ordet or The Passion of Joan of Arc on a proper screen in the country that produced them is a different experience from streaming. The international retrospectives are deep and well-curated. The café serves good Danish food and is open without requiring a screening ticket. The DFI library is accessible to researchers and enthusiasts.
Weekday evening for the most serious programming. The café terrace in summer is a destination in itself. CPH:DOX sidebar screenings (March) bring documentary programmes. The building is central — combine with a walk through Kongens Have or along the canal.
Cinemateket is operated by the Danish Film Institute, which also supports Danish film production and preservation. The archive holds a significant collection of Danish and international films. Tickets are inexpensive. The building is on Gothersgade, a short walk from Kongens Nytorv metro or Nørreport station. The café serves lunch and dinner and is popular with the Danish film and media community. If you visit one cinema in Copenhagen, this is the one.