Journal of Film Preservation - FIAF
Journal of Film Preservation - FIAF
Journal of Film Preservation - FIAF
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Jean Desmet (1875-1956), fue el primer<br />
gran distribuidor cinematográfico y<br />
propietario de cines en los Países Bajos,<br />
además de poseer una valiosa colección<br />
de materiales relacionados con el cine,<br />
que, desde 1957, se conserva en el<br />
Nederlands <strong>Film</strong>museum (ahora en el<br />
EYE <strong>Film</strong> Institute).<br />
La colección Desmet cuenta con 933<br />
películas, casi todas de los años 1907-<br />
1916 –entre ellas, obras maestras de<br />
D.W. Griffith y Louis Feuillade, películas<br />
con Asta Nielsen y Lyda Borelli y<br />
producciones de Pathé, Gaumont y<br />
Edison– e incluye alrededor de 2000<br />
afiches, casi 700 fotos y cuantiosos<br />
documentos en papel.<br />
Muchas de las películas son copias<br />
únicas. En los años 80, fueron<br />
restauradas y proyectadas en festivales,<br />
renovando y ampliando el estudio del<br />
cine mudo, pues demostraron que<br />
recurría a técnicas refinadas para la<br />
puesta en escena y utilizaba también<br />
distintos métodos para el color.<br />
En mayo de 2011, la colección ha sido<br />
inscrita en el Registro de la Memoria<br />
del Mundo de la UNESCO, que incluye<br />
documentos de importancia cultural<br />
excepcional (véase el sitio www.unesco.<br />
org).<br />
El EYE <strong>Film</strong> Institute Netherlands es el<br />
resultado de la unión reciente de varios<br />
organismos: <strong>Film</strong>bank, Holland <strong>Film</strong>,<br />
Nederlands Instituut voor <strong>Film</strong>educatie<br />
y <strong>Film</strong>museum. Actualmente está<br />
en vías de traslado a Overhoeks<br />
(Amsterdam).<br />
About the collection<br />
The original donation from the Desmet heirs in 1957 forms an important<br />
basis for the current collection <strong>of</strong> silent films at EYE. It is the particular<br />
combination <strong>of</strong> films, posters, photographs, and business archives that<br />
makes the Desmet Collection so valuable, providing an incredible insight<br />
into the early years <strong>of</strong> cinema. As a distributor, Desmet focused on financial<br />
gain; film wasn’t yet seen as an art form. The significance <strong>of</strong> this substantial<br />
collection thus lies in the combination <strong>of</strong> all the films, big and small,<br />
that defined the daily programming <strong>of</strong> his cinemas. The films and paper<br />
documents Desmet preserved reveal much about supply and demand at<br />
the time, and tell the history <strong>of</strong> what was then a very popular, new form <strong>of</strong><br />
entertainment.<br />
The collection includes 933 films, nearly all <strong>of</strong> which originate from the<br />
period between 1907 and 1916. Most <strong>of</strong> the films are one-reelers, with a<br />
running time <strong>of</strong> about 10 minutes, and a large number <strong>of</strong> them are unique.<br />
The collection additionally includes circa 2,000 posters and nearly 700<br />
photographs.<br />
The Desmet Collection is unparalleled worldwide as a cultural and socialhistorical<br />
document due to both its size and its contents.<br />
EYE is the new institute for film in the Netherlands. EYE unites the<br />
<strong>Film</strong>bank, Holland <strong>Film</strong>, the Nederlands Instituut voor <strong>Film</strong>educatie, and<br />
the <strong>Film</strong>museum in one organization. EYE plans to move to a spectacular<br />
new location in Overhoeks (Amsterdam), which will also be the new home<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Desmet Collection. Developments can be followed on the website<br />
www.eyefilm.nl<br />
More information<br />
about the UNESCO<br />
Memory <strong>of</strong> the World<br />
programme can be<br />
found on the website<br />
www.unesco.org<br />
45 <strong>Journal</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Preservation</strong> / 85 / 2011<br />
Jean Desmet and his wife Rika (Hendrica Elselina Klabou,<br />
1888-1977), studio portrait, 1910s.