Maatschappij voor Wetenschappelijke Cinematografie

history

On May 18, 1912, the Maatschappij voor Wetenschappelijke Cinematografie was established along with the Maatschappij voor Artistieke Cinematografie, in Haarlem. D. de Clerq was the general manager, and Maurits H. Binger was appointed deputy commissioner.

The aim of the company was 'the operation of the cinema for scientific, industrial, economic, and ethical purposes’.

The impetus for its creation was the so-called 'cinema problem', which was a broad discussion about the 'evils' of the cinema; this issue quickly rose to the fore after cinemas began moving into permanent buildings. During that time, the question arose about whether cinemas might have adverse consequences for children. There were suggestions that the cinemas should ban children, and some even called for a general ban on cinemas. Others wanted to use the cinema for educational purposes, and encourage efforts to produce so-called educational films.

According to Binger, this is what gave him the idea of setting up a film company to produce documentary films. On May 20, 1913, the Maatschappij voor Wetenschappelijke Cinematografie and the Maatschappij voor Artistieke Cinematografie merged into the Maatschappij voor Wetenschappelijke en Artistieke Cinematografie, a predecessor to Filmfabriek Hollandia.