Ahead of its 13th edition, running online 16 to 25 April 2021, the Movies that Matter Festival in the Netherlands launches two brand new international competitions: the Grand Jury Documentary Award, made possible by Dutch public broadcaster BNNVARA, and the Grand Jury Fiction Award. For each award, worth €5,000, eight films have been selected from across the festival’s programme strands.
Competing for the Grand Jury Documentary Award 2021 are, among others, Camilla Nielsson’s Sundance hit President, Colombia in my Arms by Jenni Kivistö & Jussi Rastas and Petite Fille by Sébastien Lifshitz, which premiered at Berlinale 2020. Jury members are IDA’s executive director Simon Kilmurry, Kenyan producer Sam Soko (Softie) and Docaviv Festival Director Galia Bador. See full list of films below.
Members of the Grand Jury Fiction 2021 are IFFR Festival Director Vanja Kaludjercic, Manager of Festival Programming at TIFF Liane Cunje and Matthijs Wouter Knol, head of the European Film Academy. Oscar nominees Quo Vadis, Aida? by Jasmila Žbanić and Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Man Who Sold His Skin are among the contenders.
The awards will be announced during an online ceremony on Friday, 23 April. The Grand Jury Documentary Award and Grand Jury Fiction Award are presented in addition to the festival’s three existing competitions: the Activist Competitionin cooperation with Amnesty International, featuring eight documentaries about the work of human rights activists; Camera Justitia, which focuses on the importance of the rule of law and the fight against impunity; and the Dutch Movies Matter prize which celebrates films from the Netherlands that open our eyes to human rights.
Also new at the festival this year is an international industry programme running 19-21 April. On the first day, 8 selected doc projects from around the world receive extensive training and coaching in the Movies that Matter Rough Cut Service. Coaches include Sigal Yehuda (Close-Up), Judy Kibinge (DocuBox) and Andrea Prenghyová (dok.incubator).
On 20 and 21 April, the festival organizes two impact days – Take on Film & Impact – in collaboration with Doc Society and FIFDH Geneva, featuring talks, presentations and a panel featuring Cara Meters (Ford Foundation), Axel Arnö (SVT + char EBU documentary), Brigid O’Shea (DAE) and Jihan El-Tahri (DOX BOX). On 21 April, 8 selected projects will be able to pitch their projects to decision makers and NGOs.
Additionally, a series of webinars, masterclasses and panels will run 17 – 22 April and will be available for free on the festival website. The programme includes a keynote by Debra Zimmermann (Women Make Movies), a talk with the team behind Oscar-nominated doc The Mole Agent and a masterclass by Douglas Herman and Sonia Nandzik, co-founders of ReFOCUS. The full programme follows below.
SELECTION GRAND JURY AWARDS 2021
Grand Jury Documentary
President directed by Camilla Nielsson
Watch Over Me directed by Farida Pacha
Dying to Divorce directed by Chloe Fairweather
Shadow Game directed by Eefje Blankevoort & Els van Driel
Petite Fille directed by Sébastien Lifshitz
A La Calle directed by Maxx Caceido & Nelson G. Navarrette
Colombia in my Arms directed by Jenni Kivistö & Jussi Rastas
Fly So Far directed by Celina Escher
Grand Jury Fiction
Night of the Kings directed by Philippe Lacôte
Quo Vadis, Aida? directed by Jasmila Zbanic
Mitra directed by Kaweh Modiri
Oasis directed by Ivan Ikic
Gagarine directed by Fanny Liatard & Jérémy Trouilh
Here We Are directed by Nir Bergman
The Man Who Sold His Skin directed by Kaouther Ben Hania
Forgotten Roads directed by Nicol Ruiz Benavides
INDUSTRY PROGRAMME: For selected participants only
Monday, 19 April
Movies that Matter rough cut service
8 compelling projects from all corners of the world in rough cut stage are selected by an international panel. The most promising rough cut will be awarded with 1.000 EUR, made possible by the Docs Up Fund. Trainers: Sigal Yehuda (Close-Up), Alex Szalat (Docs Up Fund,) Judy Kibinge (DocuBox), Sergi Doladé (Medimed ), Rada Sesic (IFFR, Sarajevo Film Festival, Eastern Neighbours FF), Maciej Nowicki (WATCH DOCS IFF) and Andrea Prenghyová (dok.incubator). Moderator: Gitte Hansen.
Tuesday, 20 April
MOVIES THAT MATTER TAKE ON FILM & IMPACT, PART 1
In collaboration with Doc Society and FIFDH Geneva
– Keynote by Nicole van Schaik of Doc Society
– Laura Longobardi of the FIFDH Impact Day will share her newest gained insights on how to fill the toolkit for changemakers
– The team of Kenyan hit doc Softie will share how they shaped their successful impact campaign. Judy Kibinge of DocuBox will moderate this session.
– The team of All That I Am will unfold their impact campaign, presenting the impact platform they built and which can be used for different goals.
– Panel: Searching the untold stories. Panel members: Cara Meters (Ford Foundation), Axel Arnö (SVT + char EBU documentary), Brigid O’Shea (DAE) and Jihan El-Tahri (DOX BOX). Moderation: Shanida Scotland (Doc Society).
Wednesday, 21 April
MOVIES THAT MATTER TAKE ON FILM & IMPACT, PART 2
In collaboration with Doc Society and FIFDH Geneva
– Pitching sessions & round tables
WEBINARS, MASTERCLASSES & PANELS: Open for everyone
Saturday, 17 April, 16:00 CET
Webinar: Filmmakers at the front line
This webinar explores how media can support resistance, and local civil disobedience, in countries such as Myanmar and Belarus. How can the international film community contribute to and influence the international and local decision making?
Monday, 19 April, 16:00 CET
Keynote: Women in Film by Debra Zimmermann (Women Make Movies)
Followed by a panel with women in film from all over the world to discuss the position of women in the film industry.
Wednesday, 21 April, 19:00 CET
Talk: The Mole Agent
The festival welcomes the Oscar nominated team of The Mole Agent, Julie Goldman and Maite Alberdi, to give an insight into how they brought their film to the international stage.
Thursday, 22 April, 14:00 CET
Webinar: Film & the green deal
Hosted by different Creative Europe partners, the highly important issue of green filmmaking is addressed. An international panel will discuss the issue, taking the film Journey to Utopia by Erlend E. Mo as a starting point.
Friday, 23 April, 16:00 CET
Film talk: Stop Filming Us
The team that won the Dutch Movies Matter Award in 2020 returns to the festival and explores what happened when the team in Kinshasa re-edits the film. A strong discussion on perception, prejudice and more.
Saturday, 24 April, 15:00 CET
Masterclass: Douglas Herman and Sonia Nandzik (ReFOCUS)
The couple Douglas and Sonia give a masterclass on the film school in Camp Moria. Films from within the camp will be shown and possibilities for filmmakers within the camp will be explored. ReFOCUS is dedicated to creating a global network of media labs to equip asylum seekers with modern media creation skills, and to provide a platform to showcase original work and share their stories.
About the Movies that Matter Festival
The Movies that Matter Festival in an international film festival on human rights. The 13th edition of the festival will run April 16 – 25, with 30 national and international premieres and a wide range of in-depth programmes. Later this year, the festival also organises an extensive educational programme for pupils and students in Amsterdam, The Hague and a number of satellite cities. The best festival films go On Tour through 16 cities across the country.
Amnesty International and the National Postcode Lottery are main partners of the Movies that Matter Foundation. Movies that Matter On Tour is also made possible by Fonds21, VSB Fonds, Fonds 1818 and the Municipality of The Hague.
