Film in the Netherlands
Art is, in general, a very visual medium. This is why film is so often embraced as an artistic device. It is a medium that most people can easily relate to. It can be a very straight forward way to pass ideas and emotions on to others, which is what art is all about. The Netherlands has many theatres, and some museums, with a keen interest in the more artistic capabilities of film as a visual medium.
Film Museum
In January of 2010 Netherlands Filmmuseum, the Dutch Institute for Film Education, De Filmbank and Holland Film merged into the EYE Film Institute Netherlands. The EYE Film Institute of the Netherlands is dedicated to its mission of preserving the heritage of the Netherlands and of the cinematic world for future generations, meaning both Dutch films and foreign films (non-Dutch films) screened in the Netherlands.
The EYE Film Institute Netherlands museum holds approximately 46,000 film titles, 35,000 posters and 450,000 photographs. The earliest materials date from 1895, which was the start of the film industry in Holland.
The EYE Film Institute Netherlands is currently undertaking a major film digitization and preservation project as part of combined efforts with IBM and Thought Equity Motion (a well-known provider of various video platform and rights development services) to preserve culturally and historically important films. The project involves scanning and storing a very large number of film files in the Linear Tape File System format.
EYE Film Institute Netherlands Museum Events
The EYE is not merely a film museum/film preservation society. It also screens various films, and is often the only place one can view certain films. The EYE shows many generes of film, including the following:
- Classics
- Children’s films
- Historical documentaries
- Art house productions
- Student films
- New films
- Foreign films
- Independent films
The EYE Film Institute Netherlands Museum also organizes various events such as lectures, debates and theatrical shows where the visual medium of film is combined with other artistic expressions such as theatre, music and other media. Open-air screenings are also held in the summer at the EYE on the terrace in the Vondelpark and in Overhoeks.
In addition to the summer open-air screenings, films are screened at the EYE auditorium regularly, sometimes with as many as six to 10 screenings per day. The screenings vary, and may range from silent dramas to new releases, or even experimental films. And, on Wednesdays and Sundays, the EYE holds kids’ screenings where animation or live-action children’s films are shown.
Screening information and schedules can be found here at the EYE’s website. It should also be noted that patrons should generally not consider language a problem when attending screenings, as many of the films screened are English-spoken or have English subtitles. Information about language and subtitles can be found on the screening schedule.