Amsterdam’s EYE Film Institute is renowned as one of the most comprehensive film museums in the world. Experience films as real works of art, just across the river from Centraal Station. A cinema, museum and archive all in one, it’s dedicated to preserving and celebrating film from the Netherlands and around the world.
Step inside to a space that is fresh, minimal and bright, where you can leave the crowds of Amsterdam’s historic canal district behind. See an interesting classic or contemporary film from anywhere in the world at one of the cinemas, often with a special lecture or live music as an accompaniment.
Enjoy the excitement of the films and learn more through the exhibitions and art installations. The permanent exhibition in the basement is very immersive, with interactive quizzes and mini cinema booths called Pods. Journey through the history of cinema at your own pace. Depending on when you visit, enjoy temporary exhibitions about famous auteurs of cinema, film history and the points where popular film meets visual art.
Film can move us in ways that are eluded by other art forms and this institute is a worthy tribute to that power. The EYE Film Institute is fascinating for its meticulous reverence for film, but also for its dazzling streamlined architecture. Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, a firm from Vienna, are responsible for its unique design that reminds some of a spaceship taking off from the river’s edge and others of a huge eye opening up.
If you’re interested in learning more about the building itself, book a guided architectural tour. Children aged 7 to 12 can take the EYEwalk, a video tour that brings movies to life. The EYE Film Institute is also a destination for wining and dining and the restaurant’s terrace looks out over the river.
Panorama, in EYE Film Institute’s basement, has free entry, but for the other exhibits you can use the Amsterdam Museumkaart. Browse for specialist books and DVDs in the gift shop. The best way to get to EYE is by passenger ferry, but there is also metered car parking available nearby.
