A brand new vision for film in the Netherlands in a brand new home… that is what is promised by eye, the outfit bringing together the main cultural film bodies in the Netherlands. Geoffrey Macnab reports
The Filmmuseum, Holland Film, the Netherlands Institute for Film Education (NIF) and the Filmbank are all joining together to form eye. eye is overseen by former IFFR boss, Sandra den Hamer, in the capacity of director of the new body. eye – the lower-case e is the preferred handle – has been created as part of the Dutch Government’s ongoing drive to reform cultural policy. The idea is that in every area of the arts, there should be a single representative body with which the government can do business. Education, Culture and Science Minister Ronald Plasterk had asked for the film sector to form a representative public body akin to the Netherlands Music Center, the Netherlands Theater Institute (TIN) and the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi).
At the end of 2011, eye is to set up home in a spanking new museum building in the Overhoeks area of Amsterdam, on the waterfront behind the city's Central Station. Its other new premises will be a five-minute bike ride away in Amsterdam North.
Den Hamer stresses the importance of the merger and the idea of creating a single platform, a single institute for cinema, which looks set to become an outfit with the same heft and international reputation as organisations such as the British Film Institute and the Danish Film Institute.
Coordination
“In the film industry in the Netherlands, there were a lot of smaller and bigger institutions… there was a lack of co-operation and there was a lot of overlap,” Den Hamer suggests. “On the other hand, what was missing was coordination between all the institutions and their activities.” The eye director believes that Dutch film culture has been hampered in recent years by a lack of innovation and of stimulating public debate, describing these as “weak points in the film industry in the Netherlands.”
The aim behind eye is to ensure greater co-operation and coherence. “There is a lot for us to win if we work closely together and if we combine all these areas of expertise,” Den Hamer argues.
Another former Rotterdam stalwart, former CineMart boss Ido Abram, has been recruited to head up eye’s communication, marketing and public and industry relations. He will be working alongside Holland Film’s Claudia Landsberger, who becomes Head of International Affairs.
The initial budget of eye will be around €8.5 million a year. However, once the new outfit is housed in its two new buildings and working at full throttle, the budget will be around €12 million. This includes an extra €700,000 that the government has provided for the merger and “new activities.” The idea is that some of the new money will be used for “stimulating” national film culture, whether through new research initiatives or provoking debate.
Distribution
eye opens at a time when distribution of arthouse film is in the doldrums across Europe. The new organisation, which has its own distribution arm, is therefore likely to play a vital part in ensuring that the films championed by IFFR have the chance of a cinema life in Holland. eye has already acquired ten of the titles screening at this year’s festival, including Tsai Ming-liang’s Visage, Corneliu Porumboiu's Police, Adjective, Jessica Hausner’s Lourdes and Dorothée van den Berghe's My Queen Karo. “Our distribution (arm) is meant to stimulate variety in the arthouses. These are the films that otherwise are not picked up,” says Den Hamer. “But it (acquiring films) is also a way of building a collection.”
eye is receiving around €40 million as its part of the seven-year Images For The Future project to digitize Holland’s audio-visual heritage. “This is not only to keep or protect and preserve them, but also gives us lots of possibilities for new ways of presenting films”, Den Hamer suggests. Together with other partners, eye is developing a “national film portal” for Dutch films and is exploring the possibilities of expanding digital distribution.
Cooperation
Den Hamer envisages that eye will work very closely with sister public body, the Netherlands Film Fund (which has retained its autonomy). The Film Fund is the agency responsible for supporting film production and cinema in the Netherlands. Its reach is wide, covering feature films, documentaries, shorts, animation and experimental films. The Fund invests in development, production, distribution and marketing. It is also responsible for promoting the national film industry – a task on which eye will make a natural partner. “When we develop new policies, we will also first check and discuss these with the Fund,” Den Hamer insists. The eye boss suggests that there are certain areas in which both bodies can help each other: for example, hatching new marketing initiatives. “There is a need to renew the way films are promoted”, she suggests.
No jobs have been lost as a result of bringing together the separate agencies as part of eye. The new institute employs 165 people. It is possible that eye may expand even further. For example, the Media Desk (funded by Brussels) may be brought into the fold. It is unlikely, however, that the Netherlands Institute for Animation Film, which is based in Tilburg and partially financed by the local government, will become part of eye.
These are tough economic times. Public film bodies across Europe are feeling the squeeze. However, Den Hamer is at pains to point out that eye is not a cost-cutting venture in any way. “That is important to say. In a way, it is a complementary merger,” she states. Why the name eye? “Of course, we have the subtitle ‘Film Institute Netherlands’ but I thought that was too dull”, Den Hamer reflects. After long brainstorming between the partners, the name ‘eye’ was chosen. It’s eye in English… after all, the Institute is international in outlook. Besides, the Dutch word for eye – oog – is a mouthful for international visitors. “And eye is a beautiful word. It's very simple... it's about watching and seeing and film culture.”