Tag: screening

Blooming | Sprouts Film Festival 2026

Blooming by Marina Russo Villani & Victor Missud

out of competition | 2024 | France/Benin | 45’

Blooming traces the journey of the water hyacinth, once introduced to Ganvié, Benin, as an ornamental feature for hotels and luxury homes, but now a suffocating presence. Following the life cycle of this invasive species – from beauty to curse to resource – the film unfolds within a waterlogged landscape steeped in local legend and the histories of the slave trade. Lyrical in tone, Blooming meditates on transformation, resilience, and the uneasy coexistence of nature and human intervention.

June 5 | 19:00 | Droog | + aftertalk with Bogna Bochińska

Bogna Bochińska is a PhD candidate at the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis. Her research interests include elemental media, blue humanities, environmental memory, folklore, and identity. She is part of the Fuck Healing (?) collective, which operates across multidisciplinary theories and artistic practices of healing. In her PhD project, she conceptualizes the European river Oder as a site for memory-making in the context of environmental personhood and West Polish identity. In her work, she engages with creative research practice in the form of auto-theoretical storytelling.

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.

Live AV Show | Sprouts Film Festival 2026

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 collectively watching a film together.

LIVE AUDIOVISUAL SHOW: Tharim Cornelisse & Oceanic

​​As both a DJ and a producer Oceanic creates immersive and shape-shifting environments in which boundaries dissolve. Like tides, the musical experiences Oceanic creates feel driven by forces bigger than the sum of their parts. Here he finds overlap with the work of visual artist Tharim Cornelisse. Cornelisse uses his own custom digital tools and techniques to create emotive abstract digital worlds within live performances where audio, light and visuals merge and enhance one another.

 In their live audiovisual performance Choral Feeling, named after Oceanic his critically acclaimed debut album, Oceanic and Cornelisse found their first collaborative piece. A performance built around visceral human movement and connection between bodies where live visuals are mixed, manipulated and tell a narrative that finds connection with the live music being played.

https://www.instagram.com/tharimcornelisse/

https://www.instagram.com/oceanic.ocean/

More info about the festival: https://sproutsfilmfestival.com/

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.

Nu Reality: The Living Gallery

Step Inside Art with VR

What if you could do more than just look at a work of art. What if you could move through it? The Living Gallery, a VR program by Nu:Reality, invites you to experience art in a fully immersive way.

With a VR headset, you quite literally step inside paintings and journey through the imagination of artists such as Caravaggio, Edvard Munch, and Henri Matisse. Worlds unfold around you and respond to your presence, as color, movement, and emotion become almost tangible.

Alongside these artistic journeys, the program also demonstrates how VR can tell intimate, human stories, adding a new dimension to the way we experience both art and one another.

The VR program will be on view from April 30 through June 24, 2026, at seven locations across the Netherlands.

Creation of the Worlds (30 mins)

An immersive VR journey into the visionary universe of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Creation of the Worlds invites viewers to step inside his paintings and become part of their unfolding.

Moving through cycles such as Creation, The City, and The Deluge, the experience blends art, music, and myth into a poetic exploration of creation, destruction, and rebirth where the viewer becomes both witness and co-creator of evolving worlds.

Caravaggio, In Tenebris (9 mins)

The experience is an imaginary journey through a maze of narrow streets – an intimate labyrinth leading from the gilded splendor of a Roman palace to the dark backstreets where Caravaggio sought adventure and ultimately met his downfall. Along this nocturnal walk, we encounter his paintings as his life unfolds in vivid, striking close-ups.

 

Nu:Reality is a Virtual Reality (VR) platform connecting storytelling, technology, publicity, education, research, and innovation in the immersive arts industry

An unprecedented platform created in partnership between Cassette and Diversion cinema, Nu:Reality is the first of its kind to offer a truly accessible stage for high-quality artistic VR experiences. By integrating VR into the daily programming offered at movie theaters, Nu:Reality fosters a collective journey into the captivating and boundless world of VR.

Nu Reality: The Living Gallery

Step Inside Art with VR

What if you could do more than just look at a work of art. What if you could move through it? The Living Gallery, a VR program by Nu:Reality, invites you to experience art in a fully immersive way.

With a VR headset, you quite literally step inside paintings and journey through the imagination of artists such as Caravaggio, Edvard Munch, and Henri Matisse. Worlds unfold around you and respond to your presence, as color, movement, and emotion become almost tangible.

Alongside these artistic journeys, the program also demonstrates how VR can tell intimate, human stories, adding a new dimension to the way we experience both art and one another.

The VR program will be on view from April 30 through June 24, 2026, at seven locations across the Netherlands.

Creation of the Worlds (30 mins)

An immersive VR journey into the visionary universe of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Creation of the Worlds invites viewers to step inside his paintings and become part of their unfolding.

Moving through cycles such as Creation, The City, and The Deluge, the experience blends art, music, and myth into a poetic exploration of creation, destruction, and rebirth where the viewer becomes both witness and co-creator of evolving worlds.

Caravaggio, In Tenebris (9 mins)

The experience is an imaginary journey through a maze of narrow streets – an intimate labyrinth leading from the gilded splendor of a Roman palace to the dark backstreets where Caravaggio sought adventure and ultimately met his downfall. Along this nocturnal walk, we encounter his paintings as his life unfolds in vivid, striking close-ups.

 

Nu:Reality is a Virtual Reality (VR) platform connecting storytelling, technology, publicity, education, research, and innovation in the immersive arts industry

An unprecedented platform created in partnership between Cassette and Diversion cinema, Nu:Reality is the first of its kind to offer a truly accessible stage for high-quality artistic VR experiences. By integrating VR into the daily programming offered at movie theaters, Nu:Reality fosters a collective journey into the captivating and boundless world of VR.

Nu Reality: The Living Gallery

Step Inside Art with VR

What if you could do more than just look at a work of art. What if you could move through it? The Living Gallery, a VR program by Nu:Reality, invites you to experience art in a fully immersive way.

With a VR headset, you quite literally step inside paintings and journey through the imagination of artists such as Caravaggio, Edvard Munch, and Henri Matisse. Worlds unfold around you and respond to your presence, as color, movement, and emotion become almost tangible.

Alongside these artistic journeys, the program also demonstrates how VR can tell intimate, human stories, adding a new dimension to the way we experience both art and one another.

The VR program will be on view from April 30 through June 24, 2026, at seven locations across the Netherlands.

Creation of the Worlds (30 mins)

An immersive VR journey into the visionary universe of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Creation of the Worlds invites viewers to step inside his paintings and become part of their unfolding.

Moving through cycles such as Creation, The City, and The Deluge, the experience blends art, music, and myth into a poetic exploration of creation, destruction, and rebirth where the viewer becomes both witness and co-creator of evolving worlds.

Caravaggio, In Tenebris (9 mins)

The experience is an imaginary journey through a maze of narrow streets – an intimate labyrinth leading from the gilded splendor of a Roman palace to the dark backstreets where Caravaggio sought adventure and ultimately met his downfall. Along this nocturnal walk, we encounter his paintings as his life unfolds in vivid, striking close-ups.

 

Nu:Reality is a Virtual Reality (VR) platform connecting storytelling, technology, publicity, education, research, and innovation in the immersive arts industry

An unprecedented platform created in partnership between Cassette and Diversion cinema, Nu:Reality is the first of its kind to offer a truly accessible stage for high-quality artistic VR experiences. By integrating VR into the daily programming offered at movie theaters, Nu:Reality fosters a collective journey into the captivating and boundless world of VR.

Nu Reality: The Living Gallery

Step Inside Art with VR

What if you could do more than just look at a work of art. What if you could move through it? The Living Gallery, a VR program by Nu:Reality, invites you to experience art in a fully immersive way.

With a VR headset, you quite literally step inside paintings and journey through the imagination of artists such as Caravaggio, Edvard Munch, and Henri Matisse. Worlds unfold around you and respond to your presence, as color, movement, and emotion become almost tangible.

Alongside these artistic journeys, the program also demonstrates how VR can tell intimate, human stories, adding a new dimension to the way we experience both art and one another.

The VR program will be on view from April 30 through June 24, 2026, at seven locations across the Netherlands.

Creation of the Worlds (30 mins)

An immersive VR journey into the visionary universe of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Creation of the Worlds invites viewers to step inside his paintings and become part of their unfolding.

Moving through cycles such as Creation, The City, and The Deluge, the experience blends art, music, and myth into a poetic exploration of creation, destruction, and rebirth where the viewer becomes both witness and co-creator of evolving worlds.

Caravaggio, In Tenebris (9 mins)

The experience is an imaginary journey through a maze of narrow streets – an intimate labyrinth leading from the gilded splendor of a Roman palace to the dark backstreets where Caravaggio sought adventure and ultimately met his downfall. Along this nocturnal walk, we encounter his paintings as his life unfolds in vivid, striking close-ups.

 

Nu:Reality is a Virtual Reality (VR) platform connecting storytelling, technology, publicity, education, research, and innovation in the immersive arts industry

An unprecedented platform created in partnership between Cassette and Diversion cinema, Nu:Reality is the first of its kind to offer a truly accessible stage for high-quality artistic VR experiences. By integrating VR into the daily programming offered at movie theaters, Nu:Reality fosters a collective journey into the captivating and boundless world of VR.

Nu Reality: The Living Gallery

Step Inside Art with VR

What if you could do more than just look at a work of art. What if you could move through it? The Living Gallery, a VR program by Nu:Reality, invites you to experience art in a fully immersive way.

With a VR headset, you quite literally step inside paintings and journey through the imagination of artists such as Caravaggio, Edvard Munch, and Henri Matisse. Worlds unfold around you and respond to your presence, as color, movement, and emotion become almost tangible.

Alongside these artistic journeys, the program also demonstrates how VR can tell intimate, human stories, adding a new dimension to the way we experience both art and one another.

The VR program will be on view from April 30 through June 24, 2026, at seven locations across the Netherlands.

Creation of the Worlds (30 mins)

An immersive VR journey into the visionary universe of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Creation of the Worlds invites viewers to step inside his paintings and become part of their unfolding.

Moving through cycles such as Creation, The City, and The Deluge, the experience blends art, music, and myth into a poetic exploration of creation, destruction, and rebirth where the viewer becomes both witness and co-creator of evolving worlds.

Caravaggio, In Tenebris (9 mins)

The experience is an imaginary journey through a maze of narrow streets – an intimate labyrinth leading from the gilded splendor of a Roman palace to the dark backstreets where Caravaggio sought adventure and ultimately met his downfall. Along this nocturnal walk, we encounter his paintings as his life unfolds in vivid, striking close-ups.

 

Nu:Reality is a Virtual Reality (VR) platform connecting storytelling, technology, publicity, education, research, and innovation in the immersive arts industry

An unprecedented platform created in partnership between Cassette and Diversion cinema, Nu:Reality is the first of its kind to offer a truly accessible stage for high-quality artistic VR experiences. By integrating VR into the daily programming offered at movie theaters, Nu:Reality fosters a collective journey into the captivating and boundless world of VR.

Nu Reality: The Living Gallery

Step Inside Art with VR

What if you could do more than just look at a work of art. What if you could move through it? The Living Gallery, a VR program by Nu:Reality, invites you to experience art in a fully immersive way.

With a VR headset, you quite literally step inside paintings and journey through the imagination of artists such as Caravaggio, Edvard Munch, and Henri Matisse. Worlds unfold around you and respond to your presence, as color, movement, and emotion become almost tangible.

Alongside these artistic journeys, the program also demonstrates how VR can tell intimate, human stories, adding a new dimension to the way we experience both art and one another.

The VR program will be on view from April 30 through June 24, 2026, at seven locations across the Netherlands.

Creation of the Worlds (30 mins)

An immersive VR journey into the visionary universe of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Creation of the Worlds invites viewers to step inside his paintings and become part of their unfolding.

Moving through cycles such as Creation, The City, and The Deluge, the experience blends art, music, and myth into a poetic exploration of creation, destruction, and rebirth where the viewer becomes both witness and co-creator of evolving worlds.

Caravaggio, In Tenebris (9 mins)

The experience is an imaginary journey through a maze of narrow streets – an intimate labyrinth leading from the gilded splendor of a Roman palace to the dark backstreets where Caravaggio sought adventure and ultimately met his downfall. Along this nocturnal walk, we encounter his paintings as his life unfolds in vivid, striking close-ups.

 

Nu:Reality is a Virtual Reality (VR) platform connecting storytelling, technology, publicity, education, research, and innovation in the immersive arts industry

An unprecedented platform created in partnership between Cassette and Diversion cinema, Nu:Reality is the first of its kind to offer a truly accessible stage for high-quality artistic VR experiences. By integrating VR into the daily programming offered at movie theaters, Nu:Reality fosters a collective journey into the captivating and boundless world of VR.

Nu Reality: The Living Gallery

Step Inside Art with VR

What if you could do more than just look at a work of art. What if you could move through it? The Living Gallery, a VR program by Nu:Reality, invites you to experience art in a fully immersive way.

With a VR headset, you quite literally step inside paintings and journey through the imagination of artists such as Caravaggio, Edvard Munch, and Henri Matisse. Worlds unfold around you and respond to your presence, as color, movement, and emotion become almost tangible.

Alongside these artistic journeys, the program also demonstrates how VR can tell intimate, human stories, adding a new dimension to the way we experience both art and one another.

The VR program will be on view from April 30 through June 24, 2026, at seven locations across the Netherlands.

Creation of the Worlds (30 mins)

An immersive VR journey into the visionary universe of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Creation of the Worlds invites viewers to step inside his paintings and become part of their unfolding.

Moving through cycles such as Creation, The City, and The Deluge, the experience blends art, music, and myth into a poetic exploration of creation, destruction, and rebirth where the viewer becomes both witness and co-creator of evolving worlds.

Caravaggio, In Tenebris (9 mins)

The experience is an imaginary journey through a maze of narrow streets – an intimate labyrinth leading from the gilded splendor of a Roman palace to the dark backstreets where Caravaggio sought adventure and ultimately met his downfall. Along this nocturnal walk, we encounter his paintings as his life unfolds in vivid, striking close-ups.

 

Nu:Reality is a Virtual Reality (VR) platform connecting storytelling, technology, publicity, education, research, and innovation in the immersive arts industry

An unprecedented platform created in partnership between Cassette and Diversion cinema, Nu:Reality is the first of its kind to offer a truly accessible stage for high-quality artistic VR experiences. By integrating VR into the daily programming offered at movie theaters, Nu:Reality fosters a collective journey into the captivating and boundless world of VR.

Nu Reality: The Living Gallery

Step Inside Art with VR

What if you could do more than just look at a work of art. What if you could move through it? The Living Gallery, a VR program by Nu:Reality, invites you to experience art in a fully immersive way.

With a VR headset, you quite literally step inside paintings and journey through the imagination of artists such as Caravaggio, Edvard Munch, and Henri Matisse. Worlds unfold around you and respond to your presence, as color, movement, and emotion become almost tangible.

Alongside these artistic journeys, the program also demonstrates how VR can tell intimate, human stories, adding a new dimension to the way we experience both art and one another.

The VR program will be on view from April 30 through June 24, 2026, at seven locations across the Netherlands.

Creation of the Worlds (30 mins)

An immersive VR journey into the visionary universe of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Creation of the Worlds invites viewers to step inside his paintings and become part of their unfolding.

Moving through cycles such as Creation, The City, and The Deluge, the experience blends art, music, and myth into a poetic exploration of creation, destruction, and rebirth where the viewer becomes both witness and co-creator of evolving worlds.

Caravaggio, In Tenebris (9 mins)

The experience is an imaginary journey through a maze of narrow streets – an intimate labyrinth leading from the gilded splendor of a Roman palace to the dark backstreets where Caravaggio sought adventure and ultimately met his downfall. Along this nocturnal walk, we encounter his paintings as his life unfolds in vivid, striking close-ups.

 

Nu:Reality is a Virtual Reality (VR) platform connecting storytelling, technology, publicity, education, research, and innovation in the immersive arts industry

An unprecedented platform created in partnership between Cassette and Diversion cinema, Nu:Reality is the first of its kind to offer a truly accessible stage for high-quality artistic VR experiences. By integrating VR into the daily programming offered at movie theaters, Nu:Reality fosters a collective journey into the captivating and boundless world of VR.

Girls in Film Global 10th Anniversary

The Amsterdam branch of Girls in Film would like to invite you for a night of celebration, screenings and drinks at Droog Amsterdam. On the 4th of April 2026, we will be celebrating the 10-year anniversary of GiF Global while also introducing the new branch of Amsterdam and its members. We will be screening short films submitted by the different branches of GiF.

We would love to see you all there!

Girls in Film is an open worldwide community, made up of new generation filmmakers, creatives and fans. Our community engages in and progresses discussions around equality and representation in film.

Doors open: 18:30
Screenings: 19:00 – 20:30
Drinks: 20:30 – 21:30

 

Surrealism Re-Scored

A synthesis of film, music, performance, and all things surrealist!

Droog is opening the doors of its Red Space to the world of surrealist cinema, brought to life by an ensemble of Amsterdam-based live musicians. Forming a collaboration between CUT and Dormsessions, film and live music committees of Amsterdam University College, the night will be split into two visually and sonically distinct parts:

The first part focuses on classical surrealist actor cinema, paired with a live jazz performance, and the second includes visually experimental avant-garde animations accompanied by live electronic music. Spanning several decades and locations, the movies screened highlight the legacy of surrealism, with the experimental score interpretation amplifying its ever-present impact.

This event aims to put the surrealism of the past into conversation with the surrealism of the present.

Coffee, But Not Really Coffee – Mayumi Nakazaki x Monali Meher

Coffee, But Not Really Coffee is a participatory event that uses personal coffee rituals as a gentle way to explore inclusivity, individuality, and cultural encounter. Instead of one “correct” coffee, everyone is invited to prepare their version whatever “coffee” means to them.

That could be: spiced brews, instant mixes, decaf, chicory coffee, mushroom coffee, Postum, chai and coffee fusions, herbal alternatives, experimental blends made for this occasion, or even coffee reading. Each cup becomes a small self-portrait as an everyday ritual that carries memory, identity, and choice.

This project is created by Mayumi Nakazaki and Monali Meher.

How it works

A table/bar will be set up with materials and space for participants to make their preferred drink. You can:

  • prepare your own “coffee (or not-coffee)”

  • chat with strangers about what you’re making and why

  • or simply enjoy the atmosphere quietly

As the room fills with different aromas and methods, the gathering becomes a collective performance: individual habits forming a shared space of hospitality and reflection.

Throughout the event, we’ll also screen art-house film fragments featuring curious coffee moments.

Why coffee?

Coffee can be comfort, routine, status, survival, heritage, or simply a way to pause. In many cultures, preparation is communal, an invitation to sit, share time, and witness one another. Here, coffee becomes a tool to meet the “other”: another person, another background, another way of living. To use the ordinary act of making a drink to create an intimate, contemporary space for exchange; inviting participants to slow down, encounter one another, and consider how everyday rituals shape belonging.

Coffee, But Not Really Coffee revisits their 2004 project titled Tea Ceremony, where neighbors from Asylum Seeker’s Center, Bos en Lommer Amsterdam were invited for tea. Participants, strangers from different nationalities, shared how tea or coffee is served in their home countries. The point wasn’t only to drink together, but to practice hospitality through giving and receiving. By paying attention to everyone’s tea, we became more aware of our own histories and assumptions.

More than 20 years later, these questions feel more urgent than ever to Mayumi Nakazaki x Monali Meher: what can art do amid today’s social challenges, and how do we live inside the tension between belonging and being ourselves?

The capacity is limited for the experience of the event.

Collective Compass: Mapping Shared Path in and beyond the Zoekjaar

Collective Compass is an one-day public event that invite audiences and artists who are based in the Netherlands, particularly those navigating the zoekjaar (search year), to engage in workshops, talks, and screening that merge artistic research with practical strategies. Taking place at Droog The Red Space, it fosters collective learning and solidarity while giving visibility to diasporic artistic practices. 

 

The program begins at 11:00 am with two talks focusing on funding opportunities and strategies for surviving the Artist Zoekjaar.
After a one-hour break, a workshop hosted by SiSi Zhang will take place, dedicated to the collective navigation of the Zoekjaar. Participants will gather around a “Map of the Zoekjaar” to discuss both practical and emotional challenges, as well as strategies for navigating the search year.

Later in the program, a reading performance by Fileona Dkhar and a 1.5hr screening by Biyi Zhu will be presented, offering reflections on and documentation of the year, followed by a short Q&A session.

This project provides a space for diasporic artists and researchers to share knowledge, tools, and artistic strategies, fostering collective problem-solving and mutual support. Participants will gain confidence and resilience in navigating the zoekjaar, while the workshop’s outputs, tools, strategies, and documentation will be shared with a wider community.

 

PROGRAM

Doors Open: 10:30

Start of the event: 11:00

Talks: 11am – 12pm

Workshop: 1pm – 3:30pm

Performance & Screening: 4pm – 6pm
Zoekjaar Kit includes both Talks and Workshop combination ticket.

Old Heart (2025) Screening + Q&A

Award Winning Old Heart’s Amsterdam Premiere

Acclaimed feature Old Heart premieres in Amsterdam at Droog November 22 with costar Eva Doueiri joined by producer Joachim Fleury for a talkback.
This mixed race love story is a timely look elder independence immigration, American Army segregation during World War 2 and humanitarian relief during the Honger Winter of 1944-45. It is also the memorable screen debut of Amsterdam’s Doueiri who has won multiple festival awards for her performance as the romantic lead.
This timeless film has won three festival best feature honors along with multiple cast awards as well as honors for cinematography, editing and the original score.
Old Heart, English spoken subtitled in Dutch tells the story of black American GI Tom Johnson’s arrival in the Netherlands via the legendary Red Ball Express. He joins Dutch translator Sarah van Praag on a dangerous resistance smuggling mission from liberated Southern Netherlands to northern cities trapped behind Nazi lines during the Honger Winter of 1944-45.  They also fall in love.
Sixty years later Tom sabotages his Michigan family’s plan to move him to assisted living and disappears on a flight to the Netherlands, determined to reconnect with the love of his life. With his family in hot pursuit, Tom struggles to find the mysterious Sarah.
A tribute to black soldiers who fought the world’s greatest racist as part of a segregated American Army, the film also honors courageous Southern Dutch citizens who risked their lives to save people starving in the north.

Watch the Trailer Here

Program:

Doors Open – 13:00
Day Screening – 14:00
Doors Open – 18:00
Evening Screening – 19:00

What They Are Saying About Old Heart:

A Stunning Story, Compelling, Entertaining”- Chicago Tribune
“Fabulous … powerful performances from Jamelle Sargent as the young Tom and Eva Doueiri as the young Sarah.”
-Indie Film Library Festival, Amsterdam
Best Feature awards from Marina Del Rey Film Festival Los Angeles, Crown Point Festival in Chicago and East Village Festival in New York
Best Editor (Gene Gamache) Crown Point Festival
Best Actress Eva Doueiri (Sweden Film Awards, Crown Point Festival)
Best Actor Edward Gaines (Mkizhmithran International Film Festival)
Best Composer (Garth Neustadter) Auguri Film Festival, Naples, and Sicilian Film Awards