Eye Filmmuseum opens the world of film. Behind the scenes, in the halls, at schools, at the exhibitions, online or in the open air: we do everything we can to let film enter you. From visitor to researcher, from primary school student to art connoisseur: film opens your eyes, film touches you. Film encourages action, reflection. We preserve and restore films to share new perspectives on cinema in the future. Join us on this never-ending journey of discovery and also lose your heart to film.
In Eye you can enjoy special programs in four state-of-the-art cinemas and be amazed at what is happening at the intersection of film and visual art. You can also interact with film history in the 360° Panorama, where hundreds of film fragments can be recalled.
Eye is renowned for the way it showcases film history and contemporary developments – from the very early newsreels and silent films to experimental art, from classic Hollywood films and unruly avant-garde film to world cinema.
The film palace on the IJ houses no fewer than sixty thousand films and various special collections of film equipment, posters and stills. There are also archives of filmmakers and historical figures from film and cinema culture.
Eye preserves, restores and presents films of all sorts. The film ‘Hollandse tulpen’ is a special example in this tulip month April. ‘Hollandse tulpen en klompen’ (Dutch tulips and clogs) consists of two short fragments. The first fragment – Hollandse tulpen – shows men and women working on the tulip fields. The film is made for a Dutch audience and promotes the custom of giving flowers as a present.
The production company was probably the Kinematograaf Pathé Frères, the Dutch subsidiary of Pathé. The reason for attributing the film to Pathé is the way the colour has been added to the film. The stencilling technique is typical for Pathé and not used by any other company in the Netherlands. The second fragment shows children’s play at the Island of Marken. The children wear the traditional costumes of their hometown. Pictures with subjects were quite popular among foreign audiences. They fit well into the exotic cliché of Holland which consists of farmers and fishermen walking around in traditional costumes and wooden shoes (klompen), growing flowers or making cheese.