Five films supported through the Women Make Movies Production Assistance Program will screen at the Movies that Matter Festival, taking place March 20–28, 2026 in The Hague, including the Opening Night film, AMERICAN DOCTOR (dir. Poh Si Teng). 9-MONTH CONTRACT (dir. Ketevan Vashagashvili); THE WOMAN WHO POKED THE LEOPARD (dir. Patience Nitumwesiga); CITIZENFOUR (dir. Laura Poitras); and COEXISTENCE, MY ASS! (dir. Amber Fares) are also all in the line-up.
THE CORD (dir. Nolwenn Hervé), from our Program, will be pitching in the Take on Film & Impact program, which supports filmmakers in refining their impact strategies and creating connections and collaborations.
Women Make Movies Executive Director Debra Zimmerman will be in attendance and will participate in several events at this year’s Movies that Matter Film Festival. She is serving on the festival’s Grand Jury for Documentary and will moderate Part 1 of the Industry Take on Industry Dilemmas panel series, featuring filmmakers Dikla Zeidler (dir. ALLES MOET BETER) and Leigh Iacobucci (dir. A FREE DAUGHTER OF FREE KYRGZSTAN) in a conversation about activism in film and the power of music and spoken word. Debra will also join the panel Backsliding Democracies, Impact & Independent Storytelling, exploring the role independent filmmakers and impact campaigns can play at a time when democracies around the world are facing rising polarization, censorship, and pressure on independent media.
WMM filmmakers and Program Alums Helle Faber, Tia Lessin & Carl Deal, and Alisa Kovalenko & Marysia Nkituk also have new films screening at the festival.
Congratulations to all of the filmmakers and teams!
