Specials

10 to 24 March and from 27 March to 3 April — an exhibition about the protagonists of the Activist programme at the Atrium City Hall. Meet the activists, get to know the films, be inspired and leave your message to them.

24 March to 1 April — six photographs by Iranian photographer Forough Alaei are on exhibition at Theater aan het Spui during the festival. Forough has been creating different images of Iranian women for years. From beach life to the woman who attended a football match disguised as a man. Among other projects, Forough provided the photos for the Times Heroes of the Year 2022 spread.

Saturday 25 March — Saeid Sadeghi was a war photographer during the Iran–Iraq War (1980-1988). His heroic photos were—and still are today—an important tool of government propaganda. He is now haunted by regrets for his support for the Iranian Revolution.

Get your unique MtMF23 festival merch at Theater aan het Spui. On March 25 between 2.00 and 6.00 p.m. limited edition t-shirts and totes will be screen printed live, with an illustration of upcoming artist Zenzy Blindeling.

Sunday 26 March — in partnership with Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we present two documentaries on climate issues.

Monday 27 March — In this Masterclass we will watch the movie Esther & the Law and we will offer you the chance to meet Esther Kiobel. Yara Boff Tonella, who has been closely involved with the Kiobel case since it came to The Netherlands and has a role in Esther & the Law, will host the Masterclass. She will tell more about Amnesty’s involvement with the Kiobel case and her experiences in this process.

Monday 27 March — at Filmhuis Den Haag, see three Iranian classics in a row, introduced by filmmaker Beri Shalmashi.

Monday 27 March — a free screening of This Stolen Country of Mine in partnership with the European Commission Representation in the Netherlands.

Tuesday 28 March — a special screening of The Hostage Takers (Puk Damsgaard, Søren Klovborg) at press centre Nieuwspoort. After the film, moderator Remco Meijer will talk to Thomas Bruning (NVJ), Jantine van Herwijnen and Evelien Wijkstra (Free Press Unlimited).

From 28 to 30 March — three Dutch celebrities choose their favourite from the festival programme.

Wednesday 29 March — in partnership with Mondiaal FNV, we are screening The Golden Thread. After the screening of The Golden Thread, moderator Lynn Zebeda will engage in conversation with director Nishtha Jain and guest speaker Luisa Moreno Ruiz.

Thursday 30 March — Using film clips from the Camera Justitia programme, we will discuss current legal issues with Fabricio Guariglia, Director of the Prosecution Division of the International Criminal Court.

Thursday 30 March — a full-day Camera Justitia package to dive deeper into world of film and global justice. Participants have exclusive access to closed sessions of the Camera Justitia seminar and receive tickets for the public Camera Justitia Masterclass and the Camera Justitia Night.

Thursday 30 March — this annual event is part of our partnership with the European Parliament to honour the winners of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. In 2022, the prize was awarded to the people of Ukraine.

Friday 31 March – This year’s NPO 2Doc selection includes two special documentaries: Lost Veterans (Marjoleine Boonstra) and Innocence (Guy Davidi). At the special NPO 2Doc screening, you can see both films.

Friday 31 March — Hiyap and Evenezer were born on a rickety boat on the waves of the Mediterranean sea and grow up in Europe. Filmed in the course of seven years, Tweeling is a surprising and unsettling coming-of-age series about two dynamic boys with the same DNA and their determined Eritrean mother. How do they find their way in the world? And what do we see in the mirror they hold up to us?

Friday 31 March — we are screening Georgia Oakley’s beautiful drama Blue Jean at Filmhuis Den Haag in collaboration with film platform Cinetree. Cinetree founder & filmmaker Hanna Verboom will provide a personal introduction to the film.

Saturday 1 April – check out three festival favourites plus in-depth programmes during the Best of #MtMF23 day. We kick off the day with Little Richard: I Am Everything. This will be followed by The Kings of the World. As the third film, we will screen the winner of the audience award, made possible by ASN Bank.

Saturday 1 April – Filmmaker Batoul Karbijha uses making a film about her disappeared sister as a means of finding out what happened and as a way of dealing with it. For herself, for her family and for all families who lost loved ones on their way to a better future.

Saturday 1 April – The adventurous Peter Paul worked his way up through the police force from the late 1990s to become a specialist in the Special Investigative Applications Service (DSRT), better known as the ‘stealth section’. As an undercover agent, he found himself among the Netherlands’ most notorious criminals, placing listening devices in cars, houses and flats, once even dangling from a block of flats.

Saturday 1 April – A film for the whole family! Kinderen van Mavungu (Mirjam Marks) is about the last primary school year of Yoseva, Kenny and Maticha in Pikin Slee, deep in the Surinamese rainforest. A mysterious world full of rituals and forest gods. The main forest god: Mavungu, who watches over the children in this exciting world full of snakes, piranhas and vine swinging. Featuring the voice of musician Typhoon.

Saturday 1 April – The portrait of grandma Lientje that hung prominently in the living room made artist Hella de Jonge realise early on that there was a great sadness behind it. No wonder that very painting became the starting point of a documentary about her remarkable creative resilience.

Saturday 1 April — Young soldier Johan goes to the Dutch East Indies in 1946 to defeat ‘Japanese puppet’ Sukarno. Coming under the spell of merciless captain Westerling, his sense of right and wrong starts to blur. Fantastically performed, visually breathtaking drama about the Indonesian war of independence, directed by Jim Taihuttu.

Saturday 1 April — Three interweaving stories of people overtaken by economic despair. Azucena has 24 hours to prevent her family from being evicted. Lawyer Rafa wants to know where the police took a young immigrant girl. And Teodora desperately tries to reach her son. Starring Spanish giants Penélope Cruz, Adelfa Calvo and Luis Tosar.

24 March to 1 April — Prefer to watch online? From 24 March, six festival films will be available on demand via streaming platform Picl.

24 March – 1 April — Want to grab a drink before or after the film? DJs will spin in the foyer of the Theater aan het Spui every night to provide you with good tunes. Programming is in the hands of The Hague pop temple PAARD and Hummingbird Music. Check out the line-up below.

For the Movies that Matter Festival 2023, we asked the talented Audiovisual Design students from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam to make teasers that they believe represent the vision of the festival.⁠⁠⁠