Magazine

On 10 December, Human Rights Day, Movies that Matter puts human rights in the spotlight with the Embassy Film Menu.

A recap of the 10 days of IDFA, as well as the Children's Rights Day organised jointly with IDFA in Carré and the annual brunch for the Human Rights Film Network.

Our grant programme is proud to champion another 10 extraordinary projects this year, each showcasing the power of cinema to connect, inspire, and transform. From an environmental film festival in Colombia to a mobile cinema tour bringing stories to life across Myanmar, and even a floating film festival navigating the heart of the Amazon in Ecuador.

Young people are not always aware of children's rights, but they do play a role in their daily lives. Find out how we use films to discuss and celebrate children's rights in the classroom.

Movies that Matter Festival has been awarded the prestigious status of an Oscar® Qualifying Festival. This places the festival in a select group of film festivals worldwide that have received this recognition.

Movies that Matter is thrilled to announce the new members for the viewing committee. We warmly welcome Amelia Hanibelsz, Berke Göl, Vess Chua and Wambui Gathee. Let's get to know our viewing committee members.

All year round, countless festivals take place around the world. Movies that Matter will also be present at several festivals in the coming season. For moderations, jury participation, award ceremonies, and, of course, to scout the best projects for our festival in 2025. Below, you can see where we will be in the near future.

At our festival this March we met up with Meninaputri Wismurti, who gave several workshops for international festival organizers during the Cinema without Borders programme. A veteran of the film industry, she is the co-founder and programme director of the yearly international 100% Manusia festival in Jakarta, Indonesia. She discusses some of her greatest challenges and victories in organizing her human rights festival with us.

July is Queer & Pride Month and with Amsterdam Pride just around the corner, it's the perfect time to reflect on the fact that the right to be yourself and love who you want is still not a given for everyone. But which film should you watch? We've made a list of 7 films for an ideal pink summer evening.

We are thrilled to announce that our grant programme is supporting 11 incredible projects this year! Among them are a brand new queer film festival in Nepal, the sixth edition of a feminist film festival in Ecuador, and a travelling cinema project in Haiti.

We are delighted with the positive feedback we have received from the Film Fund, the City of The Hague, and the Council for Culture. These recognitions confirm the importance of our work and provide us with valuable insights for further improvement.

At our festival, we met with Henry Samson Mafulul, director of the Rock International Film Festival (RIFF) and a participant of the Cinema without Borders workshop programme. In this interview, Henry shares how RIFF uses film screenings to encourage young people in Nigeria to advocate for human rights.