Discover inspiring and brand new feature films and documentaries at the Movies that Matter Festival 2021. From April 16 – 25, the international film festival on human rights will take place online, with 30 national and international premieres and a wide range of in-depth programmes. It is precisely in times of crisis that we remain in conversation and share stories that need to be heard.
The festival has three competition programmes. Activist contains documentaries about the work and life of human rights defenders, and is organised in collaboration with Amnesty International. Camera Justitia zooms in on the importance of the rule of law and the fight against impunity. The third competition programme is Dutch Movies Matter, with Dutch feature films and documentaries that open eyes to human rights. Later this year, the festival also organises an extensive educational programme for pupils and students in secondary education and mbo in Amsterdam, The Hague and a number of satellite cities. The best festival films go On Tour through 16 cities across the country.
Due to the limited room capacity as a result of Corona measures, we were unable to organise the festival at our trusted locations Filmhuis Den Haag and Theater aan het Spui this year. Pathé Buitenhof has more spacious rooms and would therefore serve as the main location for the Movies that Matter Festival 2021.
Jacques Hoendervangers, Managing Director of Pathé: “Despite the fact that this wonderful and relevant film festival cannot physically take place at Pathé Buitenhof, we will not let the festival pass by unnoticed. We will share the festival online with our visitors. We believe it is important to share a wide variety of films with a large audience, including stories about and made by people from different backgrounds. We look forward to the start of the online festival and hope to physically welcome the festival at Pathé Buitenhof next year.”
Amnesty International and the National Postcode Lottery are main partners of the Movies that Matter Foundation. The Movies that Matter Festival is also made possible by the Municipality of The Hague, Fonds 1818, Fonds21, VSB Fonds, Nederlands Filmfonds, ASN Foundation and Creative Europe MEDIA.
Trouw and BNNVARA, among others, are affiliated with the festival as media partners.