Author: Maureen Mens

Queen Maxima visits Eye to celebrate 75th anniversary

On Thursday, 24 June, Her Majesty Queen Máxima visited the Filmmuseum to mark its 75th anniversary.
During this visit, Queen Máxima was shown a presentation of the new streaming platform Eye Film Player and the various activities that take place in Eye, from education to the collection, from international promotion to programming.

Queen Máxima then made a brief visit to the exhibition Vive le cinéma!. There she spoke with Nanouk Leopold and Daan Emmen, who are presenting new work in the exhibition as image collective Leopold Emmen.

Finally, Queen Máxima officially launched Eye on Screens: exceptional images from the Filmmuseum’s collection which can be seen for a period of two years on outdoor screens in stations, on public squares and in shopping malls throughout the Netherlands.

Ahead of the launch in the museum, Queen Máxima paid a working visit to the Eye Collection Centre, where she was informed of Eye’s activities in the area of the digitisation, restoration and conservation of films. Following a tour of the depots, she watched the results of restoration projects in the cinema.

Tjoet nja’ Dhien restored by Eye free of charge on Eye Film Player

Tjoet nja’ Dhien is an epic anti-colonial film about the Aceh war, the long and bloody struggle against the colonial Dutch rule in the sultanate of Aceh in Indonesia. This aesthetically shot film portrays the unique character of the female guerrilla fighter Tjoet nja’ Dhien. After her husband and rebel leader Teuku Umar is killed in an ambush, she takes on the Dutch colonial army herself and starts leading the numerous guerilla warriors of Aceh. Watch the film free of charge on Eye Film Player.

The film, often praised for its delicate lighting, covers the period from 1876 to 1906. In 1871, the independence of the Aceh sultanate in northern Sumatra came to an end when the Dutch placed it under colonial rule. Aceans, known for their courageous characters, resisted fiercely, which led to a bloody war that lasted for decades. Teuku Umar, one of the most important resistance leaders, married Tjoet Nja Dhien in 1880, who was also part of the resistance movement. When Umar died, she set herself up as the new, charismatic, and fearless leader and remained so for ten years. As her deeds became legendary, she was proclaimed a national heroine in 1964.

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Cinemateca portuguesa online proposals for the second lockdown

As happened in the first lockdown last year, Cinemateca Portuguesa continues to promote a set of online experiencies to fulfill the lack of presential activities. The main focus is still on the virtual platform Gestos & Fragmentos (Gestures & Fragments, as in the title of a well known movie directed by the portuguese filmmaker Alberto Seixas Santos), this time refreshed in the form of a new website where visitors can find various sections dedicated to Cinemateca’s collections, from objects of pre-cinema era, to virtual exhibitions or articles on some of the most valuable items from its library.

The website also presents a collection of feature films from the silent period made in Portugal, that were recently restored by Cinemateca Portuguesa and will be available until the end of the lockdown, one feature per week. For those who want to dive in cinema’s history, Cinemateca added a new set of the conferences Histórias do Cinema to the website, this time dedicated to the films of Straub-Huillet, Ernst Lubitsch, Otto Preminger and some thematic conferences.

Finally, a new thematic section with a choice of moving images from different cities and regions of Portugal, from different periods, highlighting the digital platform Cinemateca Digital where digital representations of these films are available for public access.

All this and many more are available at http://gestosefragmentos.cinemateca.pt/

Andrei Tarkovsky Exhibition at Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam

With associative films rich in imagery, such as Andrei Rublev (1966), Solaris (1972), The Mirror (1974) and especially Stalker (1979), Andrei Tarkovsky (1932‒1986) made his name as a leading innovator of the language of cinema. This autumn, Eye presents an exhibition and film programme devoted to the celebrated filmmaker and mystic, focusing specifically on Tarkovsky’s quest for existential truth. In addition to immersing the visitor in Tarkovsky’s imagery, the exhibition includes unique documents — letters, photos and Polaroids — that have never previously been displayed in the Netherlands. Moreover, the accompanying film programme features digitally restored films.
14 September – 6 December 2019 www.eyefilm.nl/tarkovski

exhibition concept
The exhibition has been conceived to get as close as possible to Tarkovsky and his work. That is why it will immerse visitors in the director’s imagery, intoxicating them, as it were, with numerous precisely chosen fragments from his films. This approach follows the ideas of the filmmaker regarding the ‘poetry of the image’ and the necessity of a ‘poetic logic’ and a ‘poetic montage’.

private memories
Especially unique is the collection of Polaroids and photographs – never previously shown in the Netherlands – made by Tarkovsky in a private capacity and while filming. The exhibition will also include material from Tarkovsky’s private archives, including letters, scripts and other documents that have never before been presented. These mementos of Tarkovsky’s personal and professional life have been made available by Tarkovsky’s son Andrei Andrejevich Tarkovsky.

Eye International presents first Heritage Catalogue 2019/2020

If you attend the Classical Film Market in Lyon or the Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone, be sure to grasp your hard copy of the first Heritage Catalogue 2019/2020 produced by Eye International.
You can read all about our recent restorations and curated programs in this booklet. Eye International is responsible for the international marketing & promotion of Dutch films. Read more on our website: www.eyefilm.nl/en/eye-international

68mm Mutoscope and Biograph from the Eye Filmmuseum collection

The films of the Mutoscope and Biograph are quite special. Not only because they are very old and rare, but also because of their exceptional image quality.

The films of the Mutoscope and Biograph are the oldest films in the Eye vaults. The collection of Mutoscope and Biograph films consists of 200 films of approximately one minute each. The films are quite rare, only the British Film Institute has a similar smaller collection.
The films were shot on a very large format that was quickly outdated, but which yielded spectacularly beautiful images: 68mm. Apart from the format, the material is unusual because it doesn’t have sprocket holes, so the image fills the entire width of the film strip. This produces an image quality that is comparable to IMAX – 8 to 16K in digital terminology.

Most 68mm films contain rare images from various locations in Europe, with an image quality that after 120 years is still one of the best that film can transmit.

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William Kentridge – Ten Drawings for Projection

In 2015, the South African artist William Kentridge donated 10 Drawings for Projection (1989-2011) to the Eye Filmmuseum. These ten short animation films marked Kentridge’s breakthrough on the international art scene. Illuminating the eventful history of South Africa, these films will be shown at Eye this summer as part of a larger installation. Also included in the exhibition is the film installation O Sentimental Machine (2015), featuring historical footage of Russian revolutionist Leon Trotsky. The exhibition takes place during the Holland Festival, for which William Kentridge is Associate Artist. Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam, 3 June – 1 September 2019.