It was founded by the German film pioneer Oskar Messter who already owned a chain of cinemas.
[1] It was based in Berlin which had emerged as the centre of the German film industry.
Messter quickly established itself as dominant force in German production, particularly during the boom years of the First World War when foreign films faced many restrictions in Germany.
Messter played a prominent role in the development of the German feature film, moving away from the shorter running times which had been standard in the early years of cinema.
For several years after this Messter continued to produce films as an individual unit of the UFA umbrella.