Dr Carsten BrosdaSenator for Culture and Media: "A film enthusiast has died. Without Werner Grassmann, the Abaton and the idea of the arthouse cinema as a place for good and relevant film would not exist. His passion and his belief in the power of cinema have revitalised the art form of film. Our thoughts are with his family."

Helge AlbersCEO of MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein: "In Werner Grassmann, Germany is losing one of its most important cinema makers. In the 1970s, he laid the foundations for arthouse cinema as we know it today in Germany with the Abaton in the Grindel district. His programme work won countless awards, and filmmakers and actors came and went with him. His heart beat for cinema - and we can't thank him enough for his work in this area."

About Werner Grassmann's cinema and film work

Back in 1953, Werner Grassmann founded his first cinema, Studio 1 in Hamburg St. Georg, which he was forced to close around three years later. In 1970, together with a long-time friend, he founded the Abaton cinema, one of the oldest arthouse cinemas in Germany. Here, films could be seen in other languages and filmmakers such as Reiner Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders, Sir Richard Attenborough and Werner Herzog presented their works to cinema audiences in person. Year after year, the Abaton cinema was awarded various prizes at state and national level for its programme. After Grassmann retired more and more from the cinema business at an advanced age, he handed over the management of the Abaton programme to his sons.

In addition to his cinema work, Werner Grassmann produced numerous films throughout his life with his company "Studio 1 Filmproduktion" and worked as a film critic for various newspapers at the beginning of his career. In 2006, he was honoured by the Hamburg Senate with the "Biermann-Ratjen Medal" for his many years of commitment to film culture.

Photo Werner Grassmann: Heike Blenk