Sprouts Film Festival 2025

IMPORTANT: Our Sprouts Film Festival 2025 call for submissions ONLY accepts fiction films that are either
1) features/shorts that could be categorised as Ecocinema
or
2) debut features that are distinctively Queer (QUEER SHORTS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE)

>> Please read carefully our Rules & Terms to find out if your submission is eligible. Only films submitted through FilmFreeway, not through email, are taken into consideration. We don't have the capacity to respond to inquiries about the status of your submission. Please respect our notification date February 9.

In 2007 a new cinema was added to the rich cultural landscape in Amsterdam, NL. Studio/K is a unique cultural centre in that it is fully run by approximately fifty dedicated students. It is from this breeding ground that in 2022 the Sprouts Film Festival came to be. Initiated by a group of passionate colleagues that were extremely frustrated by how slow the fight against climate change was (and still is) progressing. After three successful editions our seed for change has turned into our own Foundation Sprouts Film Festival. Returning once again to our festival heart Studio/K for the fourth edition in spring 2025. Our ambition to become the leading Dutch film festival for green content and diverse new talent by 2026 is very much taking shape.

The yearly Sprouts Film Festival showcases cinema of the future by focussing on three parallel competitions, all of which are solely made up of FICTION and HYBRID films. We at Sprouts believe in the power of imagination and therefore fiction is in our festival DNA.

Our Debut Competition is made up of socially critical debut films. As students and aspiring system changers we know how difficult it can be to get your foot in the door. Through presenting fresh and unreleased gems to Amsterdam's international audience we hope to help further kick-start new talent. Our Eco Competition is made up of fiction feature films with a strong environmental focus. It is through ecocinema that we hope to strengthen our voices and motivate people to start acting now. As an extension of our Eco Competition we bring short environmental stories to Amsterdam through our Eco Shorts Competition.

After our festival dates the film selection will go On Tour to cinemas outside of Amsterdam. But Sprouts is more than just film. Two of our central pillars are the Eco EXPO, consisting of commissioned artworks that question our relationship with the more-than-human, and audio visual performances, that spark a closer connection to our lived environment.

// In 2024 both submitted features The Mountain Wagtail and Sister, What Grows Where Land Is Sick? were selected for the festival, the later going on to receive a Special Mention from the jury.