HUMAN

It takes courage to be a queer teenager at an LGBTQIA+ youth summer camp. Along with 65 other queer youngsters, Faas, Fano, Jeroen, and Finley are on their first summer camp, spending five intensive days of workshops that teach them how they can love themselves more. For the first time in their lives, the youths are surrounded by peers, all struggling with the same problems and feelings. As different as they are, they all share one thing: the need for contact and understanding. Mutual recognition of each other’s childhood or coming-out stories stirs up more emotions than they may have thought. Will this help them get closer to each other and eventually themselves?

The Netherlands is number one in Europe in hosting child pornography. In order to stem this flow of abuse material, the analysts of Meldpunt Kinderporno assess many millions of photos and videos every year. They send online hosts a removal request and criminal material is sent to the police. We do not see the images on their screens, but in their meticulous descriptions we experience how the images of child abuse pile up and get under our skin: they clean the dirt from our digital streets, but pay a high price for it.

When Lidija Zelović fled the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina at the age of 22, she didn’t realize that she would henceforth be defined as a “refugee”. Nor that her life would then be spent shuttling between her birthplace and Amsterdam, between the past and the present, between being Lidija and being a foreigner.

There are more refugees in the world today than at any point in history. And half of them are children. Let Me In is a cinematic experience which reimagines the refugee crisis as if it was happening on America’s shores. Written and directed by Jonathan Olinger, this tale of survival and the remarkable power of the human spirit is inspired by the stories of real refugees. Starring Alicia Keys, the film follows her and her family's quest to survive after they experience unimaginable violence and embark on a journey that will forever change them. Along with thousands of Americans fleeing the conflict in Los Angeles, they must seek safety by attempting to cross the border into Mexico. Guided by their resolute love for each other and utter determination, the refugee family must navigate oceans and desserts in their unrelenting pursuit to find refuge and reunite.

When the Polish au pair Karina goes grocery shopping with the family's children, she notices that the mother does not trust her with her PIN code. A small rift appears in the bond of trust between Karina and the family, with all its consequences.

For all Frits, a farmer's son, knows, his mother died when giving birth to him. He and his father make up a strong team. In the literal and figurative sense, because his father not only teaches him to milk the cows and hunt, he is also the coach of his soccer team. The happy tide turns when the boy turns eighteen and is scouted as a promising soccer talent. Suddenly, Frits's future is no longer with his father on the farm, but on the green grass of the Nijmegen soccer club NEC. His son's splendid soccer career may be the crowning glory of the farmer's hard work, but he is afraid he will also lose his only child. Desperate, he reveals the lie with which he raised his son. Frits is bewildered and makes a dramatic decision.

Registration of the theatre program by the Dutch comedy duo (George) van Houts & (Tom) de Ket. This performance celebrates the duo's tenth anniversary with an anthology of the best of their previous performances.

The 14-year-old David is a talented breakdancer; his mother Mery supports him unconditionally in his ambition to reach the top. As a teenager, she fled her native Armenia, but the situation in her country still plays a major role in the family life. David wants nothing more than make up for what his mother lost. But he is also getting to an age where he starts to have doubts. Dancing and twisting, he looks for a way to make contact with his emotions.

In a world where sex has become powerful leverage, Tessa takes on a job as high-class escort and calls herself Aimée. The secret life that comes with the job and the denial of her true feelings detaches her from herself and the people who love her most.

In 2023, there were an estimated 30.6 thousand homeless people. This number continues to rise at an alarming rate. One of them is the headstrong Ruurdt. He has difficulty getting help and cannot adapt well to our society. He is now also in danger of losing the houseboat that was assigned to him. 'Ruurdt' is an intimate portrait of a man on the fringes of our society.

Rapper and breakdancer Teekay from Eindhoven is known for his somersaults and vlogs that are causing a stir. During the corona riots in 2021, he not only gained national fame as a vlog reporter, but also ended up briefly in jail. After his junior year, Teekay wants to change course and, above all, be an example for other young people. In the film he takes us into his life and talks about his childhood in foster homes, the mistakes he made and about his dreams. What is Teekay looking for?

Documentary about loneliness in the elderly.

BELLUM is a film about how war trauma still grips the lives of three generations today. In a hiding room created for this film, we see a Jewish family breaking the silence by finally starting a conversation about suppressing and passing on war trauma. We examine how trauma is passed on from parent to child. Are later generations able to break free from a traumatic experience that they have not experienced themselves?

Nowadays, filming takes place back and forth between citizens and police officers. What is being filmed and what does this mean for the relationship between citizens and the police? Does this phenomenon contribute to transparency and a shared reality or does it create distrust and polarization? Speaking: Dagmar Oudshoorn (Amnesty Netherlands), Jaïr Schalkwijk (Controle Alt Delete), police chief Karlijn Baalman, local police officer Onno Stooker and ethics advisor National Police Katinka Knops. Citizens also watch fragments on social media and reflect on their own images. Are we spectators of a new 'image battle'?