The 21st century opened the world with flip phones, file sharing (Napster), and dial-up Internet. To celebrate 25 years of the year 2001, Eye Filmmuseum is showcasing 25 movies from 2001 from April 18th to June 14th.  From the reflections on AI and its cultural imagination in Steven Spielberg’s “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” through Richard Linklater’s philosophically-tinged “Waking Life”, to Hou Hsiao-hsien’s “Millennium Mambo”, Eye’s 2001 is a programme as iconic as the year itself.

Seen from 2026, Gen Z and Alpha carry the memory of 2001 with a bittersweet nostalgia without ever consciously experiencing the era, with Y2K clothing, analogue technology – a world before social media. The programme includes the transitional period between analogue and digital not only in stories, but in format: films with early CGI animation, later released in 35 mm prints, among them is Lucrecia Martel’s “La ciénaga” (“The Swamp”).

2001 was not only a year of technological transition, but a turning point in culture and politics, marked by the terror of 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan that changed the world. Before, Western Culture was full of irony and optimism, with movies like Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “Amélie”. After the rupture, everything shifted as the release of Richard Kelly’s “Donnie Darko” was delayed due to the 9/11 attacks. Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s “Kandahar”, shot before 9/11, acquired a meaning in the aftermath of the events.

Eye’s 2001 programme is relevant today, both in terms of artificial intelligence, social issues, and aesthetics. Some of the special performances in terms of clothing and Y2K’s fashion can be seen in Terry Zwigoff’s “Ghost World” and the depiction of sexual transgression in Michael Haneke’s “La pianiste”.The only movie released in 2025 is Kamal Aljafari’s “With Hasan in Gaza”, assembled from three MiniDV tapes from a 2001 visit to the Gaza Strip.

Full programme can be found here: 2001: Eye

For the movie buffs – here are the screenings on 35 mm screens from the Eye’s collection:

• Steven Spielberg’s “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” – (Friday, 15 May at 18:15-20:49 with introduction)// (Saturday, 23 May at 21:00-23:28)
• Zacharias Kunuk’s “Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner” – (Sunday, 17 May at 15:15-18:05)
• Richard Kelly’s “Donnie Darko” – (Saturday, 18 April at 18:45-20:41)// (Friday, 1 May at 21:00-22:56)
• Catherine Breillat’s “Fat Girl” – (Wednesday, 29 April at 18:15-19:45)// (Friday, 8 May at 19:00-20:30)
• Nanouk Leopold’s “Îles flottantes” (“Floating Islands”) – (Saturday, 25 April at 19:15-20:41)// (Wednesday, 6 May at 19:00-20:26)
• Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s “Kandahar” – (Thursday, 30 April at 18:45-20:13)// (Sunday, 10 May at 16:45-18:13)
• Lucrecia Martel’s “La ciénaga” (“The Swamp”) – (Thursday, 23 April at 19:15-20:57)// (Saturday, 2 May at 20:45-22:27)
• Michael Haneke’s “La pianiste” (“The Piano Teacher”) – (Thursday, 14 May at 18:30-20:43)// (Friday, 22 May at 21:15-23:28)
• Hou Hsiao-hsien’s “Millenium Mambo” – (Friday, 24 April at 18:45-20:39 with introduction)// (Saturday, 9 May at 18:45-20:33)
• David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” – (Saturday, 16 May at 21:15-23:55 (with pre-film)// (Wednesday 27 May at 18:15-20:55 (with pre-film))
• Richard Linklater’s “Waking Life” – (Wednesday, 22 April at 19:00-20:43)// (Sunday, 10 May at 18:45-20:28)
• Tsai Ming-liang’s “What Time Is It There?” – (Friday, 15 May at 21:30-23:34 (with introduction)// (Sunday, 17 May at 18:45-20:43)// (Sunday, 7 June at 16:30-18:28)
• Alfonso Cuarón’s “Y tu mamá también” (“And Your Mother Too”) – (Thursday, 28 May at 18:45-20:34)// (Saturday, 6 June at 21:15-23:04)