Are you hosting film festivals, mobile cinema projects, or other series of film screenings to spark conversations about human rights or social justice? Still in need of funding?

We’re here to support film screenings across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Whether you’re launching a new human rights film event or seeking to enhance the impact of existing ones, we offer start-up grants and impact grants. Our supported projects encompass a variety of formats including human rights film festivals, LGBTI film festivals, and mobile cinema projects.

The first round of our grant programme for 2024 is open for project proposals until Sunday 28 April. Visit our website for details on grant types, selection criteria, and application procedures.

We reflect with pride on a remarkable edition of the Movies that Matter Festival! With approximately 23,000 attendees once again, our halls were bustling with energy. We eagerly anticipate your presence at the 17th Movies that Matter Festival, scheduled from Friday 21 to Saturday 29 March 2025.

Starting from 1 June 2024, submissions for MtMF25 will be open.

During the Award Night, eight awards were presented by international juries:

• Grand Jury Documentary Award: The Mother of All Lies
• Grand Jury Fiction Award: Radical 
• Activist Documentary Award: Mediha
• Camera Justitia Award: KIX
• Dutch Movies Matter Award: Eddy’s War
• Shorts Award: Mast-del
• Students’ Choice Award: Photophobia

This year, for the first time, the Education Award was presented, for the best film of the education programme for pupils and students: The Mind Game. Audiences could also vote digitally for the Audience Award this year for the first time. The film I Shall Not Hate received the Audience Award, made possible by ASN Bank.

During the festival, fourteen organizers of human rights film festivals from Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indian Administered Kashmir, Indonesia, Kurdistan, Nigeria, Malawi, Mexico, Rwanda, Tunisia, and Uganda participated in the Cinema without Borders programme. Over the course of five days, they engaged in interactive workshops and networking sessions covering all aspects of organising a human rights film festival. The exchange of best practices, ideas, and inspiration aimed to enhance the impact of these festivals for the future. Stay tuned to our website for updates on the upcoming edition!

During the Take on Film & Impact programme at the MtMF24, ten teams engaged in both group and individual coaching sessions guided by seasoned impact producers and strategists. Towards the programme’s culmination, each team presented their project and impact plan before a panel comprising NGOs, distributors, and other change-makers aligned with the projects’ outreach goals.

To wrap up the Take on Film & Impact programme, various awards were presented to the participating teams:

• The ESoDoc Rough Cut Mentoring Award, presented by Erika Waldboth, was awarded to To An Ending Unwritten by Manuel Alberto Maia
• The Sunny Side of the Doc Award, presented by Jean-Jacques Peretti was awarded to I Am the River, the River is Me by Petr Lom
• The #Docsconnect Taskovski Mentoring Award, presented by Irena Taskovksi, was awarded to Guañuna by David Lasso
• The FilmAid Pitch Award, presented by Gita Saedi Kiely, was awarded to Hawa by Najiba Noori
• The AJD Industry Days Award, presented by Al Jazeera Documentary, was awarded to KIX by Bálint Révész and Dávid Mikulán

Six documentary projects from around the world also took part in the Movies that Matter Rough Cut Service. Each filmteam privately met with a panel of mentors with the aim of getting feedback on their rough cuts and further improving the structure and narrative of their story. The Docs Up Fund Award, presented by Alex Szalat, was awarded to Panic Button by Samara Sagynbaeva.

We extend our gratitude to all participants and partners whose collaboration made this programme possible! A special thank you to all the partners that made the awards possible with their generous contribution. We also extend our best wishes to all teams for success in their film releases and impact endeavors.

Movies that Matter supports the protagonists from the Activist documentaries during their stay at the festival with a networking and impact programme. However, our support doesn’t end with the festival; we continue to stand by the activists upon their return. Through our Activist Outreach and Impact Funding initiative, we facilitate screenings of their documentaries in their home countries, amplifying awareness of both the films and the activists’ crucial work. Explore the outreach projects from 2023 for a glimpse into our ongoing efforts.

Movies that Matter is one of this year’s Cannes Docs Festival Partners at the Marché du Film. Come and say hello to our visiting delegation at Festival de Cannes: our Artistic Director Margje de Koning and Programmer Maarten Stoltz will be attending the festival. Feel free to reach out to us if you would like to meet us there!

Team members will also be attending the following events:

FiSahara | 29 April – 5 May

Krakow Film Festival | 26 May – 2 June

Close Up Pitching Forum | 5 – 10 June

Sheffield Doc/Fest | 12 – 17 June

Sunny Side of the Doc | 24 – 28 June

Durban International Film Festival | 18 – 28 July

Durban Filmmart | 19 – 22 July

The Movies that Matter Festival 2024 is made possible by main partner Nationale Postcode Loterij and partners such as Amnesty International, ASN Bank, CFAP,  Het Cultuurfonds, Creative Europe, Fonds 1818, Fonds 21, Gemeente Den Haag, HUMAN, Janivo, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Nederlands Filmfonds, NPO, Oak Foundation, dagblad Trouw, de Versterking, vfonds, VEVAM and VSBfonds.