My Sweet Child + Director Q&A

CLUB 18+90 min

In celebration of World AIDS Day (December 1st) and Human Rights Day (December 10th), GAZE LGBTQIA Film Festival is proud to present a special screening of the award-winning Dutch documentary My Sweet Child followed by an in-person conversation with filmmaker Maarten de Schutter.

In 2014, HIV/AIDS activist Martine de Schutter was one of almost 300 people killed when Russian-backed missiles shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. Ten years later, 25-year-old filmmaker Maarten de Schutter attempts to reconstruct a relationship with the mother he can’t remember in this astoundingly intimate and technically marvellous debut film. Exploring memories of Martine through home videos, intimate conversations, and items recovered from the crash, My Sweet Child is a bittersweet, life-altering exploration of loss and legacy, driven by the infinite love between mother and child.

Winner of the GAZE 2025 Jury Award for Best International Short, My Sweet Child is a singular film celebrating the life of an HIV/AIDS and human rights activist and announcing the arrival of an extraordinary new talent in documentary filmmaking.

This event and filmmaker Q&A is proudly supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ireland. Following the screening and director Q&A with Maarten de Schutter, we invite you to join us after the screening for a drinks reception in the Light House Cinema, hosted by Ambassador van Koldam.