In "Celluloid" the SCHIRN focuses on a particular art film genre in which the image is produced directly, by the physical processing of the film strip. In contrast to other forms of experimental film the material is detached from its technical utilisation context and, as it were, interpreted as a projection screen, by applying diverse artistic processes: painting, drawing, collage on celluloid, scrapes and scratches in the emulsion, chemical disaggregation, or the direct exposure of the photosensitive material. Thus even in the early days of avant-garde film, works were created that investigate the medium of film in its material qualities and at the same time find new approaches to probe its relationship to fine arts and music.

The structure of the exhibition is open plan, presenting outstanding examples of "film without a camera," and providing a panorama from the 1930s to the present day with works by 21 international artists and film-makers such as Stan Brakhage, Tony Conrad, Cécile Fontaine, Amy Granat, Ian Helliwell, Hy Hirsh, Takahiko Iimura, Emmanuel Lefrant, Len Lye, Norman McLaren, Bärbel Neubauer, Luis Recoder, Jennifer Reeves, Dieter Roth, Pierre Rovère, Schmelzdahin, José Antonio Sistiaga, Harry Smith, Aldo Tambellini, Marcelle Thirache and Jennifer West