Straight Circle | Sprouts 2026

Straight Circle by Oscar Hudson

debut competition | Dutch premiere | 2025 | UK | 109’

Director Hudson draws on his background in music videos to stage a darkly comic confrontation, echoing J. M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians. Two men are stationed on opposing sides of an artificial line carved across a vast desert – a border to be defended at all costs. Forced to share a central outpost, their cultural differences soon spiral into a Kafkaesque meditation on the absurdity and futility of war and nationalism.

June 6 | 21:30 | Studio/K SK2

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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