The BALI, short for Bahnhofslichtspiele, is a single-screen cinema on Teltower Damm in Zehlendorf. The cinema says it began as a dance hall in the 1920s and has shown films since 1946, in the converted ballroom of a former hotel. From 1973 it was run by Manfred Salzgeber, founder of the Arsenal cinema, who made it a political cinema, and it passed to a new operator in 2024.
The programme is a selection of current films, often grouped by theme, with a particular eye on Eastern Europe and a short film before the main feature. BALI also has a children's programme and hosts readings, concerts and discussions. The room has 98 seats and an 8 by 4 metre screen, with digital projection and 35mm projectors still in place.
BALI lists Zehlendorf S-Bahn station on the S1, where several bus lines also stop, and the Zehlendorf Eiche bus stop about five minutes' walk away. It notes there is no parking on Teltower Damm and suggests drivers come in via Berliner Straße into Gartenstraße. The contact page has the walking route from the station. Our listings here are for English-audio screenings.