Carnaval Film Festival 2025: Online Program

July 11-13, 2025 and beyond! | 50+ curated titles

The 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 invites you to a vibrant 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺𝘀 experiencing, celebrating and reflecting on the spirit of Carnaval worldwide. Held for the first time in Amsterdam from 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟭-𝟏𝟯, this unique 𝟯-𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 explores how Carnaval has inspired filmmakers around the world to tell stories of joy, resistance, community, and freedom. From the dazzling parades of 𝗥𝗶𝗼 𝗱𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗼 and 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻 to the rhythmic expressions of 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮, 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮, and the 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗻 and the Prince Carnaval traditions of the 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 and 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗴𝗶𝘂𝗺, Carnaval is a global phenomenon, rooted in 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. The inaugural 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 honors the complexity, creativity and resistance of these traditions, while asking urgent questions about culture, identity, and belonging in a changing world.

The 𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 features 𝟲 𝗼𝗻-𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 at 𝗠𝗲𝗹𝗸𝘄𝗲𝗴 𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮 and @𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 in 𝗔𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗺 in the weekend of 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟭-𝟭𝟯. From the opening night screenings of 𝗢𝗿𝗳𝗲𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗼, on 𝗥𝗶𝗼’𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹, and 𝗣𝗔𝗡! 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗢𝗱𝘆𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘆, on 𝗧+𝗧 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹, often called ‘𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵’, to documentaries and shorts on Carnaval from across the globe, particularly in the 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗻 (𝗛𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶, 𝗖𝘂𝗯𝗮, 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮, 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗼, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘀), but also in 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗢𝗿𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀, 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻, 𝗥𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗺, 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 and 𝗔𝗮𝗹𝘀𝘁, the 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 offers a cinematic journey into the heart of the roots and rhythms of Carnaval worldwide.

In addition to the 𝗼𝗻-𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺, we are offering an extensive 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 with 𝟱𝟬+ 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀 on Carnaval available wordwide. During but also after the festival, we guide you to 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 on Carnaval in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, North America and Europe that is already available online (and available in English). At the same time, we are presenting a few 𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 on our streaming platform 𝗬𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗩𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀. These titles are exclusively 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 on 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗬𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗩𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀 during the festival period from 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟭-𝟏𝟯. Below you can find an overview of all the selected films including the links.

🎟️ For more info and tickets for the 𝗼𝗻-𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, please visit melkweg.nl/nl/carnaval-film-festival and droog.com/program/carnaval-film-festival. For the 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺, which will be 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲, 𝟮𝟰/𝟳 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 (𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟭-𝟯𝟭) 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱, see below!

LATIN AMERICA

A Revolução Salgueirense (The Salgueiro Revolution, 1993, 22’, Brazil, no English subtitles)
Bahian Carnival: An Unforgettable Party Celebrating Brazil’s African Roots (2025, 14′, Brazil, dir. Sarah Miranda and Luis Miranda)
Bolivia: In the Heat of the Oruro Carnival (2024, 51′, Bolivia, dir. Juan José Lozano)
Bossa Negra: O Samba é nosso, mas quem está no palco? (Bossa Negra: Samba is Ours, But Who Is On Stage?, 2025, 17′, Brazil)
Brasil, Brasil (2007, 180′, Brazil, dir. Andy Dunn/BBC): Episode 1: Samba to Bossa Nova (2007, 60′), Episode 2: Tropicalia Revolution (2007, 60′), and Episode 3: A Tale Of Four Cities (2007, 60’)
Carnival(s): Salvador de Bahia, Black Beauty (2025, 13’, Brazil)
Colombia’s Barranquilla Carnival (2024, 28′, Colombia, dir. Jamz Supernova)
El Carnaval de El Callao: representación festiva de una memoria e identidad cultural (2017, 10′, Venezuela, dir. UNESCO)
Feat of the Fete (2025, 50′, Jamaica, dir. Saeed Thomas)
Filhos do som (Sons of Sound, 2017, 24’, Brazil)
Inside Rio Carnaval (2007, 56′, Brazil, dir. National Geographic)
Rio, carnaval da vida (1978, 13′, Brazil, dir. Leon Hirszman)
Samba: The Heartbeat of Brazil (2025, 6′, Brazil)
Samba de Santo: Resistência Afro-Baiana (Samba of Saints: An Afro-Bahian Resistance Movement, 2020, 82′, Brazil)
Samba on your Feet (2005, 53′, Brazil, dir. Eduardo Montes-Bradley)
Samba de Santo: Resistência Afro-Baiana (Samba of Saints: An Afro-Bahian Resistance Movement, 2020, 82′, Brazil)
Saravah (1969, 100′, Brazil, dir. Pierre Barouh)
The Making of Carnaval: La Fiesta Entre La Carne Y El Espiritu (Carnaval: The Feast of the Flesh and the Spirit, 2024, 20′, Peru, no English subtitles)
This is Bate Bola (2019, 16’, Brazil)
Trailer of Egili: Rainha retinta no carnaval (Egili: Black Queen of Carnaval, 2023, 2′, Brazil)
When Night Falls in Rio de Janeiro (2025, 43′, Brazil, dir. DW Documentary)

CARIBBEAN

Carnival in Haiti: Joyful and Resilient Voodoo Dance and Heritage (2024, 47′, Haiti, dir. SLICE)
Carnival, Its Origin and Evolution (2015, 28′, Trinidad & Tobago, dir, Larry Sindass/CaribNation)
El Carnaval de La Habana de 1964 (1965, 16′, Cuba, dir. Oscar Valdés)
Fly Brother: Saint Thomas: Mas an’ More(2024, 26’, US Virgin Islands, dir. Pedro Serra)
Fly Brother: Saint Croix: Taste of the Tropics (2024, 26’, US Virgin Islands, dir. Pedro Serra)
Mas Prep (Short film series, 2020, 73′ in total, Trinidad & Tobago, dir. Shari Petti)
Mas: Bliss on the Road (2024, 11’, Trinidad & Tobago, password: tabanka)
Nan Lakou Kanaval: A Visual and Auditory 16mm Exploration of the Haitian Carnival (2024, 8′, Haiti, dir. Kaveh Nabatian)
Uni den Karnaval (United in Carnaval, 2023, 57′, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten)

AFRICA

Calabar Carnival (2025, 5′, Nigeria, dir. 2nacheki)
Cape Town Carnival (2010, 23′, South Africa, AlJazeera)
Cape Verde: The Sound of Longing (2024, 42′, dir. Claudius Gehr/DW Documentary)
Carnaval da Vitória (1978, 40′, Angola)
Guinea-Bissau Carnival (2024, 27′, Guinea-Bissau)
Inside Africa’s Biggest Street Party: Nigeria’s Calabar Carnival (2023, 15′, Nigeria, Niyi Fagbemi)

ASIA

Mela (Carnival, 2020, dir. Pranjal Joshi)
Tales of Goa: The Goan Carnaval (2024, 7′, India, dir. Pratik Joshi

EUROPE

Carnaval in zuidelijk Nederland (1938, 6′, The Netherlands)
De Kikkers van Oeteldonk (2024, 15′, The Netherlands, dir. Ambrosius Roeland)
Oilsjt Carnaval onder de mensjen (Aalst Carnaval tussen de mensen, 2025, 28’, Belgium)
Het Verdriet van Carnaval (2022, 71′, The Netherlands, dir. Frank van Osch)
Het Geheim van Carnaval (2023, 25′, The Netherlands, dir. Barbara de Baare and Pamino Parren)
Notting Hill: 21st Century Carnival (2020, 46′, United Kingdom, dir. Matthew Bartlett and James Kermack)
Notting Hill Carnival: Sound Systems (2014, 17′, United Kingdom, dir. BBC)

NORTH AMERICA

Caribana 1967: The Birth of a Canadian Tradition (2025, 5′, except from the documentary Play It Loud)
Not For Sale (2025, 10′, United States, dir. Lemar Arceneaux)
Review of Toronto Caribbean Carnaval (2022, 17′, Canada, dir. Irina Volkova)
The Cultural Significance of Toronto’s Caribbean Carnival (2024, 6′, Canada)
Trailer of Becoming a Queen (2022, 3′, Canada, dir. Chris Strikes, who discussed his documentary here)
Wild Magnolias: The Rite of Passage of the Mardi Gras Indian (2024, 16′)