On Wednesday 26 March, our jury awards were presented during the Award Night, skilfully hosted by Bahram Sadeghi. Prizes were awarded in the following seven categories:

• Grand Jury Documentary Award – Facing War by Tommy Gulliksen
  For the first time, the winner of this award is eligible for Academy Award submission in the category Best Feature Documentary.
• Grand Jury Fiction Award – Manas by Marianna Brennand
• Activist Lens Award (supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) – Black Snow by Alina Simone
• Justice Frame Award (supported by the Municipality of The Hague and Vfonds) – Kamay by Ilyas Yourish and Shahrokh Bikaran
• Dutch Focus Award (supported by VEVAM) – Home Game by Lidija Zelovic
• Shorts Award – Man Number 4 by Miranda Pennell
• Education Award – King Ridwan by Sammy Shefa Idris

And on Saturday 29 March, we awarded the:

• Audience Award (supported by ASN Bank) – Home Game by Lidija Zelovic

On Saturday 29 March, we concluded the 17th edition of the Movies that Matter Festival with the beautiful and witty documentary Balomania by Sissel Morell Dargis. Before the screening, Kirsten Kossen, Head of Human Rights at ASN Bank, awarded the Audience Award to filmmaker Lidija Zelovic for her film Home Game, which had also received the Dutch Focus Award earlier that week.

The festival opened on Friday 21 March with a speech by Director-General for Culture and Media, Barbera Wolfensberger, and a musical performance by members of the Papua community in the Netherlands. The opening film was The Promise by Daan Veldhuizen and Witfilm, followed by impactful conversations with the director and one of the main protagonists: Papuan human rights and climate activist Raki Ap.

This year, the festival was once again deeply rooted in The Hague. In addition to our main venues Filmhuis Den Haag and Theater aan het Spui, we were also welcomed at locations such as De Regentes, Theater and Filmhuis Dakota, Theater De Vaillant, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Grey Space in the Middle, and Amare.

From 21–29 March, we presented over 90 films and numerous in-depth programmes featuring activists, experts and filmmakers from all over the world. No less than 61 premieres took place at the festival, including 10 world premieres.

More than 5,000 secondary school and vocational students participated in our extensive education programme in The Hague and Amsterdam. We hosted emerging organisers of human rights film festivals for our five-day workshop programme Cinema without Borders.

Our industry programme – with panels and workshops for film professionals, NGOs and funds from across the globe – focused on creating impact with human rights films. We also welcomed delegations of talented filmmakers and producers from Kenya, Morocco, Nepal, Ukraine and South Africa.

Besides films, there were many other ways to experience the festival – including The Phoenix of Gaza XR – VR experience, a pub quiz hosted by our friends at De Grote Podcastlas, film screenings and iftars at Theater De Vaillant, and the glitter-filled Queer Night Party with real dance-offs.

With help from The Hague’s iconic music venue PAARD, we also curated a lively musical side programme Take on Tunes, which brought live music and DJs to the foyers of Theater aan het Spui and Filmhuis Café each evening – offering a space to talk, toast and dance together.

As part of Movies that Matter On Tour, we’re screening The Promise throughout the Netherlands this month. A forgotten struggle, a lost future. In the 1960s, it seemed that West Papua was on its way to independence. But international interests, geopolitical power dynamics and economic motives decided otherwise.

In May, the documentary Flophouse America will go on tour – a poignant film about 12-year-old Mikal, who was born and raised in a hotel room he shares with his parents. Driven by love and the hope for a better life, Mikal’s greatest wish is for his mother to stop drinking. But what does it really take for someone to change?

You can also watch several festival titles via NPO Start (only in the Netherlands), including Blauwe ballen en andere verkrachtingsmythes (“Blue Balls and Other Rape Myths”) and Ik was een kind (“I Was Only a Child”).

The Movies that Matter Festival 2025 is being made possible by our main partners National Postcode Lottery, Municipality of The Hague, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amnesty International and NPO and partners such as ASN Bank, CFAP, Creative Europe, het Cultuurfonds, Dioraphte, Fonds 1818, Fonds 21, broadcaster HUMAN, Dutch Film Fund, newspaper Trouw, Vfonds, De Versterking, VEVAM en VSBfonds.

For a full summary of our partners, click here.