About Eye

Eye is a treasurer, pioneer and guide to the world of film and the art of the moving image.

Treasurer: collecting and sharing
As the only museum for film heritage and film culture in the Netherlands, Eye manages the country’s cinematographic heritage with an internationally renowned collection of more than 55,000 films, ranging from the very first moving images to the very latest films. Eye’s ever-growing collection also encompasses hundreds of thousands of photographs, posters, sheet music, (pre-)cinema devices, filmmakers’ archives and an extensive library.

Eye is responsible for the Netherlands’ film collection: storing this in a sustainable way, making it accessible, providing context, and keeping it alive.

We are aware of the gaps in our collection and are therefore always looking out for new and different perspectives on the history of film. In this way, we are able to supplement and reinterpret the collection on the basis of new insights.

Guide: curating and opening up
Film is as popular as ever, and everywhere. We are constantly surrounded by moving images. We strive to create connections and point the way through this flood of images and films: what is important (historically), what has been forgotten or is unseen, what is exceptional, beautiful, controversial or urgent. The diversity of our collection and programming is always in the foreground.

We create educational programmes for teaching throughout the Netherlands, and every year we welcome many (school) students through our doors. In an international context, we promote the whole, broad spectrum of Dutch film culture. By entering into dialogue with audiences and professionals, we open up multiple perspectives on (film) history. We strive to be not only a guide, but also to open up our collection and our museum to new, as-yet-unheard-of makers and narrators.

Pioneer: discovery and innovation
Within the international archival world, Eye is recognised as a pioneer in the fields of restoration, conservation, digitalisation and presentation of film heritage. We are always looking for new ways to make our collection as widely available as possible, online and on-site. We show how film can live outside of the familiar setting of the cinema, from exhibitions at the intersection of film and visual art right through to the presentation of the very latest artistic VR works.

We help children and young people discover the power of visual language. We search for innovative ways to reach and bond with familiar and as-yet-undiscovered target groups.

Eye wishes to be a world leader in the way film is kept and shown within a museum context. We present and preserve film as art, entertainment, cultural heritage, social documentation and as an art form that is constantly in flux. Eye pays attention to both the classics and established names and the unknown and experimental. Eye opens up new vistas and welcomes underexposed perspectives on film, (film) history and the art of the moving image.

Eye is divided into three sectors:

- Operations
- Museum
- Industry

Sandra den Hamer (Managing Director)
Ido Abram (Deputy Director, Director SEE NL)
Stan Spijkerman (Business Deputy Director)

Lex ter Braak (chairman a.i.), Chafina Bendahman, Shady El-Hamus, Marco Huijbregts, Anneke de Vries and Marc van Warmerdam.

For more information about the Board of Trustees and the retirement schedule, see the 2021 Governance Code Culture Appendix.

Sandra den Hamer (Managing Director)
Ido Abram (Deputy Director, Director SEE NL)
Stan Spijkerman (Business Deputy Director)
Frank Roumen (Sector Manager for the Collection)
Giovanna Fossati (Chief Curator)
Jaap Guldemond (Director of Exhibitions)
Mila Schlingemann (Head of Programming)
Anne van Es (Head of Production)
Florine Wiebenga (Head of Education)
Lisette Ruijtenberg (Head of Marketing & Communication)
Hester Barkey Wolf (Head of Development)

Eye manages the national film heritage of the Netherlands and maintains a collection that now includes more than 54,000 films, 2.5 petabytes of digital files, 82,000 film posters, hundreds of thousands of still photographs, almost 30,000 film books, and special paper archives including the Jean Desmet Collection. One of the main tasks of the collection is to restore films from the pioneering days of cinema up until the present and to make them digitally available. More about the Eye collection.

Eye is very active in the field of education. This department works closely with the educational branch, the film industry, and other partners to stimulate media literacy among young people. We create high-quality programs that are accessible to everyone. More about Education.

The Eye cinemas screen about twenty films per day, ranging from the earliest silent comedies to contemporary experimental productions. When you also consider the four major exhibitions in the exhibition space, as well as Eye’s various collaborations with universities, the Concertgebouw, and many festivals, it is plain to see that Eye seriously aims at having as broad a profile as possible. Eye also focuses on exciting (online) presentations, where live music, talks, and other forms of expression play an important role. See an overview.

Eye endeavours to stimulate a passion for film among the widest possible audience. Eye sees itself as the ambassador for film and wants to remove the threshold that used to be associated with the fancy word ‘cinematography’. Eye is meant for connoisseurs, enthusiasts, and anyone else who wants to be enticed by the image. To realize this mission, Eye actively cooperates with various parties in the cultural sector and the business world. Abroad, Eye International is the face of Dutch film.