01/04/2022 - The Dutch festival focusing on human rights will unspool its industry section in a hybrid format, featuring a series of talks, panels and master classes

The Myanmar Film Collective and producer Corinne van Egeraat will discuss their documentary Myanmar Diaries during the Industry Days

Running from Thursday 7 to Friday 15 April, the Movies that Matter Festival is also set to host its Industry Days. The rich programme includes a series of talks, panels and master classes that address urgent and relevant issues from around the world by giving a platform to filmmakers, activists and other changemakers so that they can share their stories and experiences.

The main topics that will be explored during this edition are Film & Impact, Afghanistan, Green Filmmaking, Press Freedom and Women in Film. Last year, the first edition of the industry programme was organised, which ran entirely online, and this time, the Industry Days will take place both on site in The Hague and online via the festival website.

Emma Romeijn, industry producer for the Movies that Matter Festival, explains: “We are very excited to welcome people to The Hague for the very first on-site Industry Days. However, to keep our content accessible for our community and audiences worldwide, we have decided that all programmes will also be made available online. Throughout the Industry Days, our main focus will be on creating impact, as Movies that Matter believes that film and stories have the power to bring about change. We are grateful to all of the filmmakers and partners participating, with whom we've been able to put together such an extensive programme.”

Among the guests at the Industry Days are Danielle Turkov, CEO of Think-Film, who will deliver a keynote speech on “Film & Impact”. Dutch director Mijke de Jong and award-winning screenwriter Jolein Laarman will talk about their latest film Along the Way, which is premiering at the festival (see the news). Furthermore, the Myanmar Film Collective and producer Corinne van Egeraat will discuss their documentary Myanmar Diaries [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], while directors Sahra Mani, Aboozar Amini and Dawood Hilmandi will address the challenges and difficulties of being an Afghan filmmaker in a talk moderated by IDFA artistic director Orwa Nyrabia.

Together with Free Press Unlimited and the research team Save the World, Movies that Matter presents a panel discussion on journalism and press freedom. And finally, 12 projects selected for the Take on Film & Impact programme will be pitched to a panel of NGOs, sales agents and other changemakers. The complete overview of all industry programmes can be found here.

The Movies that Matter Industry Days programme is accessible for anyone with an industry accreditation (apply here) or a press pass, the latter of which is free of charge. For people attending remotely, the industry sessions will be made available online after 24 hours, and from 7-9 April, the events will be streamed live.