Movies that Matter Festival

Overview

Movies that Matter Festival (MtMF) is the Netherlands' human rights film festival. The 21st edition runs March 20 to 28, 2026, in The Hague, across venues including Theater Aan het Spui, Filmhuis Den Haag, Theater de Regentes, and Theater de Vaillant. The festival presents over 90 films across nine days, organized into six competitive sections and a non-competitive Panorama program.

The Hague is the seat of the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and dozens of international legal and diplomatic organizations. The festival's audience includes international lawyers, judges, diplomats, and NGO professionals who engage with the films' human rights subjects from positions of direct professional involvement. This audience profile distinguishes MtMF from general documentary festivals: post-screening Q&A sessions frequently involve practitioners with direct experience of the issues on screen.

The 2026 edition awarded the Grand Jury Documentary Award to Traces (dirs. Alisa Kovalenko and Marysia Nikitiuk), a Ukrainian documentary following six women who survived sexual violence during Russia's war in Ukraine. The Grand Jury Fiction Award went to Aisha Can't Fly Away (dir. Morad Mostafa), set in Cairo's Ain Shams neighborhood. The Grand Jury Documentary Award qualifies the winning film for Academy Award consideration in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Submission Details

Movies that Matter accepts submissions for fiction and documentary films through its online submission form. Submissions for the 2026 edition were open from June 2 to November 1, 2025.

Submission fees:

• Early Bird (June 1 to July 31, 2025): EUR 20
• Normal Fee (August 1 to September 30, 2025): EUR 25
• Late Fee (October 1 to November 1, 2025): EUR 35

Eligibility requirements:

• Only documentaries and feature films finalized or with a world premiere in 2025/2026 are eligible
• The festival does not require a premiere status but takes it into account during selection
• Films must address human rights or social justice themes
• The final selection is announced at the end of February via email

Competition categories (8 films each):

• Grand Jury Documentary: 8 documentaries related to human rights. The winning film is eligible for nomination for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
• Grand Jury Fiction: 8 fiction films related to human rights
• Activist Lens: 8 documentaries about human rights defenders
• Justice Frame: 8 documentaries and fiction films about justice, international justice, and the rule of law
• Dutch Focus: 8 documentaries and fiction films about human rights made by Dutch filmmakers
• Shorts: all selected shorts compete for the Shorts Award

Films not selected for competition are programmed in the non-competitive Panorama section, organized under themes including Take on Power, Take on Love, Take on Future, Take on Freedom, Deep Dive, and Festival Favourites. Panorama films also compete for the Audience Award.

Key Sections

• Grand Jury Documentary Competition - 8 human rights documentaries, Academy Award-qualifying for Best Documentary Feature
• Grand Jury Fiction Competition - 8 human rights fiction films
• Activist Lens Competition - 8 documentaries about human rights defenders
• Justice Frame Competition - 8 films about justice and the rule of law
• Dutch Focus Competition - 8 films by Dutch filmmakers addressing human rights
• Shorts Competition - short films competing for the Shorts Award
• Panorama - non-competitive section with themed programs, eligible for the Audience Award
• Educational Program - screenings and discussions for schools and universities
• Industry Program - professional activities in collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Documentary Filmmakers

The Grand Jury Documentary Competition is Academy Award-qualifying. If your documentary addresses human rights and is finalized in 2025 or 2026, winning this competition makes your film eligible for Oscar nomination consideration. The 2025 winner, Facing War (dir. Tommy Gulliksen), about Jens Stoltenberg's final year as NATO secretary general, received this qualification. The 2026 winner, Traces, received the same qualification. This makes MtMF one of the most strategically valuable documentary festivals in Europe for filmmakers pursuing Academy recognition.

For Fiction Filmmakers

MtMF is one of the few human rights festivals with a dedicated fiction competition. The Grand Jury Fiction Award (EUR 5,000) recognizes narrative films that address human rights themes. The 2025 winner, Manas (dir. Marianna Brennand), backed by Walter Salles and the Dardenne Brothers, was set in the Amazon rainforest. The 2026 winner, Aisha Can't Fly Away (dir. Morad Mostafa), was set in Cairo. Fiction films that engage with social justice, displacement, or systemic oppression find a dedicated audience here.

For Dutch Filmmakers

The Dutch Focus competition is reserved for Dutch filmmakers addressing human rights. The EUR 5,000 award, made possible by copyright organization VEVAM, provides recognition and cash for domestic filmmakers. The 2025 winner was Home Game (dir. Lidija Zelovic), a 30-year portrait of a displaced family from Sarajevo. The 2026 winner was Between Brothers (dir. Tom Fassaert).

For Short Filmmakers

The Shorts Award carries a EUR 1,500 prize. The 2025 winner, Man Number 4 (dir. Miranda Pennell), was set in Gaza in December 2023. The 2026 winner was Rahhala: Hayya ala Hayya (dir. Lujain Jo). Short films addressing human rights themes are eligible for this competition.

The Hague Context

The festival's location in The Hague provides access to the world's most concentrated community of international justice professionals. Films addressing international criminal justice, refugee experience, and global human rights find audiences with direct professional involvement in these areas. The festival's industry program, organized in collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, connects filmmakers with policymakers and practitioners.

Major Awards

Competition Awards (each EUR 5,000)

• Grand Jury Documentary Award: EUR 5,000, Academy Award-qualifying (2026: Traces, dirs. Alisa Kovalenko and Marysia Nikitiuk)
• Grand Jury Fiction Award: EUR 5,000 (2026: Aisha Can't Fly Away, dir. Morad Mostafa)
• Activist Lens Award: EUR 5,000 (2026: Cutting Through Rocks, dirs. Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni)
• Justice Frame Award: EUR 5,000 (2026: This Is My Body, dir. Jerome Clement-Wilz)
• Dutch Focus Award: EUR 5,000, made possible by VEVAM (2026: Between Brothers, dir. Tom Fassaert)
• Audience Award: EUR 5,000, made possible by ASN Bank

Short Film Award

• Shorts Award: EUR 1,500 (2026: Rahhala: Hayya ala Hayya, dir. Lujain Jo)

Festival History

Movies that Matter was founded in 2004 as a human rights film festival in The Hague. The festival emerged from a broader Dutch engagement with international justice and human rights advocacy, leveraging The Hague's status as the international city of peace and justice. The festival has operated continuously for over two decades, growing from a small thematic event into a nine-day festival programming over 90 films across six competitive sections.

The festival's Academy Award-qualifying status for the Grand Jury Documentary Award has elevated its international profile, making it a strategically important stop for documentary filmmakers pursuing Oscar recognition. The 2025 edition (17th) was the first to receive this qualification, and the 2026 edition (21st) maintained it.

The festival's collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its industry program connects the festival's programming directly to Dutch foreign policy and international development work, creating a bridge between filmmaking and diplomacy that few other festivals can offer.

See Also

For festival circuit planning and premiere strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. To calculate the financial return of festival submissions, see the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator. For documentary filmmaking, see Documentary Filmmaking Guide. For IDFA Amsterdam, the Netherlands' other major documentary festival, see IDFA Amsterdam.