On May 14, the official MDAG Awards Ceremony took place at the Dramatic Theatre in Warsaw. The 23rd edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity takes place May 8–17 in seven cities (Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Łódź, and Bydgoszcz), followed by the online edition from May 19 to June 1 at mdag.pl.
MAIN COMPETITION. GRAND PRIX – BANK MILLENNIUM AWARD
In the Main Competition of the 23rd Millennium Docs Against Gravity, 12 films competed for the Grand Prix – Bank Millennium Award worth €10,000. The winner was selected by a jury composed of Talal Derki, Lea Glob and Jessica Hargrave.
- Winner: To Hold a Mountain by Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić. Citation: The film takes us into a magical world – a chosen solitude shared between an aunt and her niece, redrawing for us the beauty of family bonds within an enchanting natural landscape and rural tradition filled with love and patience. The same patience is shown by the filmmakers themselves, as they quietly observed and captured every subtle detail of a story that speaks to the reunion of humanity with nature, a nuanced portrayal of sisterhood, adolescence, and the profound, generative role that nature and family hold in shaping who we are.
- Special Mention: A Fox Under a Pink Moon by Mehrdad Oskouei, Soraya Akhlaghi. Citation: For a beautiful portrait of a young female Afghani artist that gave us a deeper understanding of hope, resistance and survival.
MAIN COMPETITION. BEST EDITING AWARD
In addition to the Main Competition’s main award, the jury presented the Best Editing Award for the first time. The winner was selected from among the editors of the films nominated in the Main Competition. The award amounts to €2,000.
- Winner: Time and Water by Sara Dosa. Editors: Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput, Mark Harrison. Citation: An emotionally resonant message to the future, shaping memories built by eyes, water and stone into a visual form. Interweaving layers of family heritage and climate history, the film presents glaciers as both forms and characters, shaped by time and by humanity, laced with persistent hope for the power of change.
MAIN COMPETITION. BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD
The Best Cinematography Award went to the cinematographer of one of the films in the Main Competition. The award amounts to €2,000.
Winner: Closure by Michał Marczak. Cinematography: Michał Marczak. Citation: Balanced between an expansive river panorama and the inner layers of a grieving father’s mind, the visuals of this film transmit a message tying the intimacy of the father’s beliefs to the vastness of nature and its power.
MAIN COMPETITION. FIPRESCI AWARD
For the first time at MDAG, the award of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) was presented. A three-person jury composed of critics Bartolomé Armentano, Igor Anjelkov and Sylwia Szostak selected the winner from among the films nominated in the Main Competition.
- Winner: A Fox Under a Pink Moon by Mehrdad Oskouei, Soraya Akhlaghi. Citation: The film awarded today reminds us of one of the most important functions of documentary cinema – its ability to respond to current issues, ask difficult questions, and compel us to reflect on the world we live in…This is a story that people should hear today especially strongly – also here in Poland, at a moment when refugee issues remain one of the key social and political topics. The film reminds us that behind debates, statistics, and headlines, there are always real people and their lived experiences. We present this award for courage, humanism, and the extraordinary power of cinematic language. For cinema that does not merely describe the world, but genuinely helps us understand it better.
POLISH COMPETITION:BEST POLISH FILM AWARD
Ten titles qualified for this year’s edition of the competition. The jury composed of Joanna Łapińska, Raul Niño Zambrano, and Ola Staszel announced the winning film. The winner received a prize of €4,000.
- Winner: Candidates of Death by Maciej Cuske. Citation: For a thrilling cinematic roller coaster; a tender yet hellishly funny portrait of growing up, friendship and intimacy in which cheerfulness mixes with fears that can be just as terrifying as horror movie zombies.
- Special Mention: Traces by Alisa Kovalenko, Marysia Nikitiuk. Citation: For a profoundly moving work in which the directors masterfully balances the devastating reality of sexual violence in war with a collective portrait of resilience.
SMAKJAM AWARD FOR BEST PRODUCTION IN THE POLISH FILM
In addition to the Best Polish Film Award, the Polish Competition also presented the Best Production Award funded by Smakjam studio, specializing in visual and sound post-production. The award amounts to €3,333 or post-production services of equivalent value.
- Winner: Traces by Alisa Kovalenko, Marysia Nikitiuk. Production: Olha Bregman, Natalia Libet, Violetta Kamińska, Izabela Wójcik, Dariusz Jabłoński. Citation: We have decided to honour a documentary film that serves as a powerful reminder of the potential of documentary cinema – a cinema that speaks out for victims, fights for justice, and builds a sense of community. With extraordinary sensitivity and empathy, the filmmakers portray the experiences of women affected by violence at the hands of Russian aggressors. At the same time, the film is also a moving story of solidarity, showing how human connection can help people survive the trauma of war.
THE ARTHOUSE CINEMA ASSOCIATION AWARD IN THE POLISH COMPETITION
The Arthouse Cinema Association Award in the Polish Competition consists of support for the promotional campaign of the winning film in cinemas worth 10,000 PLN. The jury included Agnieszka Noskowska, Dagmara Pawłowska, and Grzegorz Smędek.
- Winner: Closure by Michał Marczak. Citation: For an extraordinary combination of form and content. Both the subject matter tackled by the director – highly relevant from a contemporary perspective – and the way it is presented deserve recognition and appreciation. The film approaches the issue of attentiveness to young people coming of age with remarkable sensitivity and thoughtfulness. At the same time, the film is technically accomplished on every level. The cinematography, camerawork, and soundtrack work together seamlessly, creating a coherent and carefully crafted whole.
- Special Mention: Bigger Picture by Mikołaj Janik. Citation: Unfortunately, we were unable to present any additional awards this year. However, we would still like to draw the audience’s attention to one particular film and give it special recognition. Through its creative sense of disorientation – elevated further by an outstanding musical score – the film opens up a new dimension and ultimately leaves viewers with a hopeful perspective on the search for meaning and direction, and on the possibility of finding both.
BEST SHORT FILM AWARD
22 films from around the world competed for the Best Short Film Award worth €2,000. This year’s jury consisted of Nebojša Slijepčević, Anas Sareen, and Joanna Baranowska. The jury has unanimously decided to award two emerging female filmmakers, whose works offer a rare blend of exciting formal choices and sharp political commentary.
- Winner: How to Catch a Butterfly? by Kiriko Mechanicus. Citation: By interrogating the racial fetishes that pin Asian women into fantasies of servility, this film rejects toxic gender and race relations and offers instead a punk feminist expression of personhood across generations. Delivered with bold cinematic flair, its intelligence and spirit convinced us instantly.
- Special Mention: Guided Tour by Alba Jaramillo. Citation: A post-colonial fable with a unique visual style, this film embarked us on a journey that was both enchanting and amusing, twisting and turning between the realms of the human and the natural, yet never losing its acute political consciousness.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL POLAND AWARD
The Amnesty International Poland Award worth 3,000 PLN was presented this year. Twelve titles competed for the award. The jury consisted of Margje de Koning, Anna Błaszczak-Banasiak, and Anne Marie Borsboom.
- Winner: A Fox Under a Pink Moon by Mehrdad Oskouei, Soraya Akhlaghi. Citation (in part): This is a film about the violence and humiliation experienced by millions of women in every corner of the world. It is a portrait of a determination that is difficult to fathom – one that drives people to risk their lives in the hope of living better ones.
CHOPIN’S NOSE AWARD
This year’s festival also presented the Chopin’s Nose Award and €2,000 for the best film about music and art. Jury: Eliza Kącka, Lidia Popiel, Bartek Wąsik.
- Winner: Crocodile by Pietra Brettkelly, The Critics. Citation: All the films we watched affirmed the quest for freedom and reaffirmed the universal – simply human – need for art. We were captivated by the intimate and subtle portrayals of relationships with literature, music, and other people. We witnessed powerful and dramatic images of a community capable of creating both great beauty and great misery. But one film in particular convinced us that art is a strategy for the survival of the human race. That even in an African city, without resources or institutional support, it is possible to create something from nothing. To unleash the powers of imagination, intuition, and creation. Superpowers! In this poignant documentary, art proves to be a refuge, a source of meaning, and a guarantor of identity. And for whom? For a group of teenagers who draw us into their world. Teenagers who could teach us all a lesson in maturity. The collective “The Critics” has shown that art can be a way of life. And that it opens the door to freedom.
GREEN WARSAW AWARD
During this year’s edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity, the Green Warsaw Award worth 15,000 PLN was once again presented for the best film on environmental issues. The award is funded by the City of Warsaw. The Green Warsaw Award is accompanied by the film section Climate for Change. Jury: Salomé Jashi, Leszek Drogosz, Orina Krajewska.
- Winner: Whispers in the Woods by Vincent Munier. Citation: In this film, we are invited to follow in the footsteps of three protagonists as they lead us into a fairy tale. With profound respect and patience, through love and dedication, a hidden life unfolds in front of us. We are drawn into the heart of dense woods where time, as we know it, pauses. In this cinematic silence, we begin to see. Guided by three generations – grandfather, father, and son – the audience in the cinema becomes one with nature and its most discreet inhabitants.
- Special Mention: Sentient by Tony Jones. Citation: In contrast to the extraordinary sensitivity and respect for nature and life in its most subtle forms, unimaginable suffering takes place every day, often invisible to us. Yet who, if not us, should stand up loudly as advocates for beings imprisoned in laboratories? For taking on a subject so often overlooked, despite the fact that it concerns all of us, and for the courage to show this suffering openly and without compromise, we have decided to award a Special Mention to Sentient by Tony Jones.
FIRST APPEARANCE AWARD
Ten documentary debuts competed for the €2,000 First Appearance Award funded by Visa. The award was presented by an intergenerational jury composed of Oliwia Maciejewska, Antoni Banach, Stanisław Biele, Elżbieta Zawadzka, Witosława Giedrojć, and Halina Rudzka. Winner: Confessions of a Mole by Mo Tan. Citation: First prize goes to the film that delighted us with its sincerity, avant-garde form, fantastic animation, and above all, its authentic style.
- Special Mention: Joybubbles by Rachael J. Morrison. Citation: Our jury would like to honour a remarkable, highly optimistic, and hopeful biographical film. We were captivated by its positive tone, which resonated throughout the entire story.
“NEWSWEEK PSYCHOLOGIA” AWARD FOR THE BEST FILM ON PSYCHOLOGY
The editorial team of Newsweek Psychologia once again presented its Award for the Best Film on Psychology, worth €1,000. Jury: Joanna Gutral, Małgorzata Osowiecka-Szczygieł, Małgorzata Mieczyńska, Dellfina Dellart, Iwona Zabielska-Stadnik.
- Winner: My Word Against Mine by Maasja Ooms. Citation: The human mind is astonishing. Hidden within a grey, twisted and convoluted mass, it is the most powerful tool for conquering the world. It is the keeper of our secrets, of our desired and undesired thoughts, of our wonderful and difficult experiences. It is here that so many beautiful unknowns lie hidden. So many mysteries to unravel. And our demons, too. This is a film that, for 113 minutes, takes us precisely there, deep into the human mind, keeps us on the edge of our seats, and won’t let us take our eyes off the faces, because the camera captures everything we’d hate to miss: what a person feels as they grapple with their extraordinary experience, what changes within them when, with a therapist as their guide, they can peer into the recesses of their mind, face their demons, and understand – why I am like this.
COMPETITIONS STILL UNDERWAY
Until May 17, audience voting is still ongoing for the Warsaw Documentary Award (Audience Award) and the Onet Big Screen Doc Award, whose winner will be chosen by viewers from four major cities: Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, and Poznań.
The results of these votes will be announced after the end of the theatrical part of MDAG. After the online edition of the festival, on June 3, the Online Audience Award will be announced and presented to the most popular film of the second part of the 23rd MDAG.
