Movies That Matter 2022

A simple but deeply insightful and, at times, challenging documentary, Marjolein Busstra’s We Don’t Talk (Wij praten niet) follows an in-depth series of conversations between therapists and teenagers as they tackle a complex web of sexual violence and exploitation.

Dutch/Turkish filmmaker Ahmet Polat’s documentary I am a Bastard comprises a journey into the past that lead character Rashif never thought he ever wanted to take, to discover the truth about his absent father. It is the first production of Studio Biarritz, the Dutch-based production house founded by Corine Meijers.

Belgian producer Kristian van der Heyden spoke to a panel of a panel of NGOs, distributors and outreach changemakers during the Movies That Matter Take On Impact pitch session. In the project Slave Island two filmmakers, the Belgian Jimmy Hendrickx and Indonesian filmmaker Jeremy Kewuan, explore the hidden paradise of Sumba island, only to discover the atrocities of present-day slavery.

In his feature doc No Place for You in Our Town (screening in Visions du Réel Latitudes and presenting at Movies That Matter, following its world premiere at CPH:DOX), Bulgarian director Nikolay Stefanov returns to his home town of Pernik to look at the lives of some of football club FC Minyor’s most die-hard supporters, who are part of a once-prospering, now struggling, mining community.

Telling the story of the 2020 assassination attempt on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Daniel Roher’s doc opens the Movies that Matter Festival Friday 8 April. Earlier this year, 'Navalny' won the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary and the Festival Favorite Award at Sundance. Movies that Matter 2022 will run April 8 - 16 April in the Dutch city of The Hague, online and in cities across the country.

From April 7-15 April, the Movies that Matter Festival will host its inaugural Industry Days, presenting a line-up of talks, panels and masterclasses addressing urgent and relevant issues from around the world. “Our main focus will be on creating impact as Movies that Matter believes that film and stories have the power to bring about change,” says Industry Producer Emma Romeijn.

The Movies That Matter Industry programme gets into full swing April 7 after easing of restrictions on face to face engagement in The Netherlands, and following its initial online roll-out during lockdown. Industry manager Emma Romeijn tells Business Doc Europe what to expect over the coming days. “The red thread throughout our industry program is the idea of impact,” she underlines. 

The stereotype of the climate activist is of an Extinction Rebellion-style protester, dressed like an old hippy, holding up the traffic in a busy city centre or blockading the petrol pumps. Roger Cox, the protagonist of Nic Balthazar’s new film Duty Of Care, screening in MTM Camera Justitia Competition, is in a very different mould. The director explains how to Business Doc Europe.