Eco Shorts: Waterworlds | Sprouts Film Festival 2026
Eco Shorts: Waterworlds
Water Girl by Sandra Desmazières
eco shorts competition | 2025 | France/Portugal/Netherlands | 15’
An elderly freediver reflects on her life and an unfulfilled longing, with the sea as a constant presence. A lyrical, hand-drawn and colourful animation exploring universal themes.
Beneath Which Rivers Flow by Ali Yahya
eco shorts competition | 2025 | Iraq | 16’
In the tranquil marshlands of southern Iraq, young Ibrahim lovingly tends to his buffalo, but disruption looms on the horizon.
Last Tropics by Thanasis Trouboukis
eco shorts competition | Dutch premiere | 2025 | Greece | 20’
As time begins to abandon their coastal village, three young protagonists turn to illegal dynamite fishing in an attempt to escape their precarious situation.
Acid City by Jack Wedge & Will Freudenheim
eco shorts competition | 2026 | USA | 12’
A self-sufficient island city rises from a vast acidic ocean beneath apocalyptic red skies. In this travelogue from the future, Acid City’s eclectic residents take life as it comes.
Eco Shorts: Waterworlds | June 3 | 19:00 | Droog | + aftertalk Milieudefensie
For five editions now, the team behind Sprouts has developed a recurring platform for fictional ecocinema and socially critical debut films. We have steadily grown into an interdisciplinary film festival, now present across six venues in three of Amsterdam’s city districts: Studio/K, Kriterion, De Uitkijk, Droog, MidWest, and QRU.
While a five-year anniversary calls for celebration, each day we are reminded of why we felt the need for a festival like Sprouts in the first place. Autocrats, tech bros, and far-right factions continue to wreak havoc on our planet, disrupting ecosystems and undermining international law and human dignity. This is why we cherish the brave filmmakers of our 2026 edition so deeply: they defy systems to share bold, uncompromising visions. We also support the shaping of a new generation of green storytellers by hosting our very first Sprouts Eco Shorts Pitch and Industry Day.
From 1 – 7 June, let us focus on bringing people together and inspiring one another to resist. Whether by visiting our free Eco Expo, joining our community dinners, attending outdoor screenings, supporting our fundraiser for Sudan, or simply watching a film together. For more information on the festival and our full programme, visit https://sproutsfilmfestival.com/ and follow us on Instagram @sproutsfilmfestival.
