In this episode, we get to have a chat with the director and the producer of the Amsterdam Student Film (AmsFF) Festival Emma Byvanck and Alya Yumrukcal. We talk festival prep, the importance of community and the politics of film and festivals.
Listen on:
AA website // Soundcloud // Spotify // Youtube
Amsterdam Alternative just launched a new video department called Fragmenta.
Check out the Fragmenta page for more info about this project and how to join as a video maker.
The first two videos are now online. Episode one is an interview with David Bollier, episode two an interview with Katie Duck.
Amsterdam Alternative is a collective project, an association built on the strength, energy and dedication of its members. An organization like AA cannot exist without people who want to help, think along and/or provide financial support. That is why we call on everyone to support Amsterdam Alternative and our goals by becoming a member.
Join as a member
Donate
Amsterdam Alternative publishes articles about free spaces, gentrification, politics, climate, music, art, housing and other urgent topics. We publish in our bi-monthly free newspaper as well as online.
See all articlesIn juni 2026 gaat een nieuw ambitieus project van Amsterdam Alternative van start genaamd: Anderworld Records. Aan onze welbekende tweemaandelijkse krant, de Ventilator Cinema, het AADE en al die andere inspirerende AA-projecten voegen we een platenlabel toe. Geen traditioneel, hiërarchisch label, maar een coöperatief, postkapitalistisch initiatief dat zich richt op muziek, onderzoek en experiment. Naast muzikaal plezier en creativiteit staat Anderworld Records voor collectieve eigendo
Pirate and community radio have been around for a long time, offering people an alternative way to listen and explore local artists and music that is not in the mainstream. Online radio is a continuation of this tradition, and in the face of Covid, it offered the possibility to experience spontaneous, live and human-curated music. Ingrid is part of this scene with her radio show Kaas FM, where she showcases artists from the local underground music scene in the Netherlands. She shared some of her
Begin 2027 opent een heuse wapenfabriek de deuren in Amsterdam. Wapenbedrijf Thales neemt dan een nieuwe locatie in Amsterdam Zuidoost in gebruik, vlak bij station Bullewijk.1 Op deze locatie komen meer dan 350 mensen te werken aan de ontwikkeling van software voor militaire en civiele toepassingen.2 Iets waar alle Amsterdammers zich tegen zouden moeten verzetten, want door Thales te verwelkomen in onze stad, laat Amsterdam de komst toe van een bedrijf dat direct profiteert van oorlo
The atelier; the studio; the workplace – or whatever you may call it – all form important infrastructure for artists, writers, and researchers to think about, create, and exhibit their creative practice. When it comes to anti-squat arrangements, where promises and temporalities are indefinite, the spaces which artists inhabit in Amsterdam become entangled with vague timelines and precarious agreements. While there is much to be grateful for – the opportunity to work on personal
Amsterdam Alternative has initiated a wide variety of projects since 2015. Some were temporary but most are still running. Check some of the most current projects below or visit the projects page to see a full overview.
See all projectsFrom the 1st of February 2023 Amsterdam Alternative is running the cinema + bar on the second floor of the OT301. The spaces are being used for film & documentary screenings, discussion nights, comedy, music, dance performances, workshops, book launches, podcast recordings and more.
Sometimes, you sense it. A gesture, a sound, something pulses quietly beneath the surface of the city. A story waiting to be heard. Rad-Ish is a podcast about the silent dreamers, everyday radicals and hidden dissenters who keep the city alive. We seek out the voices of the underground, the pillars of movements that often go unseen yet build the foundation for collective spaces and a desirable future for the many, not the few. On a regular basis we release a short episode where we pull that little red thread that runs through Amsterdam, from the people directly shaping alternative culture to those nurturing it in the background. We're here to pay attention to those who resist the obvious, and talk to those who quietly practice other ways of being.
This modular web documentary is intended as an inspirational document, a guide and an archive. It is a compilation of stories about and quests for other ways in which we can shape society. We (and many others with us) are convinced that things really can be done differently and that a different view of ownership can play a major role in this.
In a media landscape dominated by shallow content, fear, distrust, anger, violence and toxic polarization, Fragmenta will offer an alternative. We don't simply focus on problems or on generic or popular topics but rather connect to individuals and their stories. We seek passion, hope, optimism and inspiration in order to help create a better, more fair, equal and healthy world for the many and not the few.
Thanks to all the talented photographers in the Amsterdam Alternative collective we always have great images in our newspaper and lots of nice photo reports online.
See all photographyReclaim the Seeds Amsterdam organizes an annual, donation-based festival that combines the exchange of seeds with talks centered on political and social context, practical workshops, and lectures on topics related to seeds, sovereign growing practices, and biodiversity.
Photo report Reclaim the seeds - 15 March - Fruittuinen van West.
Photography: Jeanne Beyssac
On Sunday 8th of March (International Women's Rights Day) thousands of people joined the feminist march in Amsterdam to protest for equality, freedom and solidarity. The crowd walked from from Dam Square to Museumplein and raised their voices against oppression, inequality, femicide and discrimination of women and girls worldwide.
Photography © Jeanne Beyssac
On Sunday 15th of February we hosted another edition of the Noodle Show. A laid-back Sunday afternoon for electronic music makers and curious listeners. For this edition, the guest speaker was Tripping Jaguar — a Dutch electronic artist known for deep, psychedelic journeys across downtempo and related emphasized “storytelling” sound worlds. After the talk the floor was opened for a collaborative live jam, where people can plug in their own hardware and “noodle” together—drum machines, synths, samplers, modular, grooveboxes… anything that makes sound.
Photography © Jeanne Beyssac
Amsterdam Alternative started as a network of solidarity and free newspaper but we’ve alwys had the ambition to create inspiring videos as well. In 2024 we created and published about 50 hrs of video about collective ownership, in 2025 we started a new video department called Fragmenta.
See all videoEen film over en door de mensen van Het Groene Veld.
Help ons mee in strijd voor het behoud van Het Groene Veld! Teken de petitie, hang een poster of kom langs!
Kijk op: https://hetgroeneveld.amsterdam
Camera/edit: Elffin van Baars
Camera: Niels Douma, Tibbe van Diemen, Denys Parchenko, Isa van Lier
Productie/Regie: Isa van Lier, Oscar Zeegers
Met dank aan: Sara, KJ, Hay, Femke, Wybe, Inez, Ollie, Anouk, Isobel
Camera: Pablo van Wetten
Audio/music: Peter Rutten
Edit/animation: Ivo Schmetz
Met dank aan/Thanks to:
People: Ad Vlems, Diny
Funding: AFK, Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie
Camera: Pablo van Wetten
Audio/music: Peter Rutten
Edit/animation: Ivo Schmetz
Met dank aan/Thanks to:
People: Melissa Koutouzis & Cody Hochstenbach
Funding: AFK, Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie
In the Amsterdam Alternative agenda you’ll find the public programming from our participating venues.
See the complete agendaDe Culturele Stelling van Amsterdam is een verdedigingslinie in en rond de stad waarin onafhankelijke creatieve initiatieven, zelfstandige woon-werkpanden en vrije culturele ruimten zich hebben verenigd sinds 2012. Amsterdam heeft van oudsher een reputatie als ‘vrije stad’ en ‘v
A Coffee place, bookshop & culture space Noon coffee & culture recently opened (july '25) at the Kruislaan 259a in the beautiful building of De Nieuwe Meent next to Amsterdam Sciencepark station in Amsterdam East. It is a place where passion is felt in the air. Its a coffee place,
Aan de westrand van Amsterdam ligt een unieke kans: de Lutkemeerpolder, 43 hectare. Nu nog bestemd als bedrijventerrein, maar een gebied met grote ecologische waarde, als het ontwikkeld wordt tot agro-ecologisch landschapspark. Voedselpark Amsterdam is een oproep aan de gemeente om deze kans te verz
Helicopter Amsterdam is an initiative by Vincent Polak, Sophie Neijts and Bernard van Veen, founded in 2010 – as Sink Or Swim at the time. Our goal is to provide workspace for performing artists, mostly (live) musicians. As of 2020 Helicopter Amsterdam manages 500m2 for creative purposes
The Vondelbunker is a 100% volunteer run space, using DIY politics to create a place for counterculture in the hypercapitalist city centre. The Vondelbunker is located in an old bombshelter located in the Vondelpark in Amsterdam. Under the bridge bands and DJ’s play, performances shown, m
Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof is een doorlopend social design project. Het is een ontmoetings- en ontwikkelplek aan de Sloterplas in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, gedragen door buurtbewoners en een netwerk van makers. Het bestaat uit een hout- en metaalwerkplaats en een groot, groen terrein waar een zeer uite
Established in 2005, If I Can’t Dance, I Don’t Want To Be Part Of Your Revolution is an art organisation dedicated to exploring performance and performativity as forms of social and political imagination. After many years of operating nomadically, we are now based at the “Collegeza
In mei 2022 openden theatercollectief De Warme Winkel en BOG. de eerste Amsterdamse theaterbroedplaats achter station Amsterdam Sloterdijk: De Sloot. De Sloot is een werkplaats voor theatermakers met een volwaardige vlakkevloertheater-zaal, een kleinere zaal, 4 grote repetitieruimtes en 20 werkateli
If you want to be kept up to date about Amsterdam Alternative projects then please subscribe to our email newsletter.
We will not spam you with lots of emails and we will not share or sell your contact details to other organisations.
Email:
General: info(at)amsterdamalternative.nl
Editorial: redactie(at)amsterdamalternative.nl
Advertise: advertentie(at)amsterdamalternative.nl
Music reviews: music(at)amsterdamalternative.nl
Book reviews: books(at)amsterdamalternative.nl
Collective Ownership: collectiefeigendom(at)amsterdamalterantive.nl
Fragmenta: fragmenta(at)amsterdamalternative.nl
Ventilator Cinema: ventilatorcinema(at)gmail.com
Vrij Beton: vrijbeton(at)amsterdamalternative.nl
Collectief Eigendom: collectiefeigendom(at)amsterdamalternative.nl
Postal Address:
Jan Hanzenstraat 39-41
1053SK Amsterdam
Press
If interested in an interview or presentation about Amsterdam Alternative, Vrij Beton, Collective Ownership or another AA project please contact info(at)amsterdamalternative.nl.