This year, MDAG Polish Competition will feature ten “outstanding” films competing for three awards – the Best Polish Film Award, the Best Production Award from Smakjam Studio, and the Polish Arthouse Cinemas Association Award. “These are titles awarded at the most important international festivals [and] many of them will have their world premieres,” write organisers. All will celebrate their Polish premieres. “For the seventh time, as part of the Polish MDAG Competition, films that take your breath away will be presented.”
The 23rd MDAG will take place from May 8 to May 17, 2026, in cinemas across seven cities (Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Łódź, and Bydgoszcz), and online from May 19 to June 1 at mdag.pl.
Organisers add: “This year we present the latest works of creators, who have been shaping the history of Polish documentary cinema for years. Bodies (of War) by Małgorzata Szumowska is a film about how war inscribes itself into bodies, art, and identity. Michał Marczak tells the widely discussed story of Krzysztof Dymiński, who went missing by the Vistula River, in Closure. Marcin Borchardt revisits the legacy of a legendary artistic duo through their protégé, Jasia, in My Themersons.”
“Candidates of Death, directed by Maciej Cuske, is a film about male friendship – what he himself calls his opus magnum, a project he worked on for… 17 years,” the festival continues. “The Current by Rafał Skalski takes us back to the 1980s, telling the story of a wild expedition from the source to the mouth of the Amazon—where absolutely nothing goes according to plan. Freak Show, directed by Łukasz Ronduda and Michał Pawlak, in turn, tells the story of a group of artists with disabilities who prepared a performance for the opening of Warsaw’s Museum of Modern Art.
“Traditionally, the selection will also include Polish co-productions,” organisers add. “The moving Ukrainian-Polish film Traces, directed by Alisa Kovalenko and Marysia Nikitiuk, captivated audiences at Berlinale. It tells the story of Ukrainian women documenting war crimes of a sexual nature committed by Russians. The Polish-Italian production Ewa – The Last Lesson portrays the story of Ewa Benesz, a legendary actress of the Grotowski Theatre. There will also be no shortage of debut works.
“Mo Tan, the unforgettable protagonist of Letters from Wilcza will once again captivate audiences – this time returning to MDAG with the energetic and intimate debut Confessions of a Mole. Mikołaj Janik will present Arek. Mama, Panorama, whose protagonist, Arek Pasożyt, is a documentary reincarnation of Zorba the Greek.”
The Polish Competition of the 23rd MDAG
- Bigger Picture (Arek.Mama.Panorama) by Mikołaj Janik. Synopsis: Artist Arek Parasite really has it uphill. To face his problems, he sets off for the Tatras. There, he discovers a clue to the largest painting in Polish history (115x16m!) – the monumental Panorama of the Tatras, lost over 130 years ago. WORLD PREMIERE
- Bodies (Of War) (Ciało wojny) by Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert. Synopsis: A visually driven documentary exploring how war inscribes itself on the body, art, and identity through three interwoven stories. The film explores war across different dimensions – the body, art, and lived experience. WORLD PREMIERE
- “Candidates of Death” (Kandydaci śmierci) by Maciej Cuske. Synopsis: The decade-long process of creating an amateur horror film under the mysterious title Candidates of Death by a group of friends becomes the starting point for discreet observation of their growing up. POLISH PREMIERE
- “Closure” (Bez końca) by Michał Marczak. Synopsis: Daniel did not hear his son Krzysiek leaving the house and heading to the bridge over the Vistula, where he was last seen. A camera captured him – and then he disappeared: either he jumped into the river or walked off the bridge. POLISH PREMIERE
- “Confessions of a Mole” (Wyznania pieprzyka) by Mo Tan. Synopsis: After years in Poland, filmmaker Mo Tan returns to China. A fortune teller’s warning about a mole sparks a family feud. Amidst a cancer diagnosis and a fracturing family, this raw tragicomedy asks: can we outrun fate, or is it etched on our skin? POLISH PREMIERE
- “Ewa – The Last Lesson” (Ewa – ostatnia lekcja) by Andrea Mura, Federico Savonitto. Synopsis: After more than 40 years of artistic research in Italy Ewa Benesz decided to write her memories and return to Poland. How will her knowledge be transmitted? What will remain of a life spent in theatre work? INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
- “Freak Show” by Łukasz Ronduda, Filip Pawlak. Synopsis: A cinematic tale about a group of diverse young artists with disabilities who challenge expectations and aesthetics – reality blends with art, fiction, and provocation, leading to a surprising finale. WORLD PREMIERE
- “My Themersons” (Moi Themersonowie) by Marcin Borchardt. Synopsis: Built from archival materials, this essay film reflects on war, language and love through the perspective of a child and two artists for whom creation becomes a strategy of survival. WORLD PREMIERE
- “The Current” (Nurt) by Rafał Skalski. Synopsis: 41 years ago, eleven adventurers attempted descent of the Amazon River, from its source to its mouth. Only four reached the end. Told through Kate, the expedition’s only woman, The Current reveals a psychological struggle in a male-dominated group. WORLD PREMIERE
- “Traces” (Ślady) by Alisa Kovalenko, Marysia Nikitiuk. Synopsis: “Traces” bears witness to the resilience and solidarity of women. The film follows Iryna Dowhan as she documents the experiences of women affected by violence, revealing how they transform pain into the power of truth, justice, and mutual support. POLISH PREMIERE
