MDAG 25

Kompleta is an intimate record of an extremely difficult period in the lives of the directors Tomasz Śliwiński and Magdalena Hueckel. Magdalena, while 8 months pregnant, was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. In the film, which world-premiered May 10 and pitched at the Pole Position event in Warsaw, the directors combine raw documentary footage with elements of music video, photography and collage in an experimental attempt to process their trauma through art.

On May 11, the awards of Millennium Docs Against Gravity Industry programme were handed out. This year’s event featured 4 pitching sessions, 42 projects and over 340 one-on-one meetings. “We’re proud to support these outstanding projects at every stage of their journey. With such bold voices and powerful stories, we truly believe the films developed here will resonate with audiences around the world,” said Anna Szczypińska, Head of MDAG Industry.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that film festival masterclasses are delivered in hushed, reverential tones to an ostensibly mute and seated audience. Not when Northern Irish filmmaker/academic/doc maverick Mark Cousins comes to town. This week he was in Warsaw to engage head-to-head with MDAG Artistic Director Karol Piekarczyk and, in the process, deliver what he called his “anti-masterclass.”

As of 2025, the Polish Millennium Docs Against Gravity festival will be an Oscar® qualifying event. “This means that the Grand Prix – Bank Millennium Award winner will have a clear path to the Academy Awards,” the festival writes. The deadline for submissions for the 22nd MDAG is January 6. The festival will take place May 9-18 2025 in cinemas, and from May 20 to June 2 online at mdag.pl.

“While things like artistic values, or thematic importance are always a place to start…at the end of the day, however simple it sounds, we really are searching for the best films,” Millennium Docs Against Gravity Artistic Director Karol Piekarczyk explains his programming approach on the eve of the festival’s 22nd roll-out. The festival runs 9-18 May across seven Polish cities, and 20 May to June 2 online.

Designed for emerging filmmakers from Central and Eastern Europe, the Millennium Docs Against Gravity Short Pitch Program provides a platform for directors of short documentaries to present their work-in-progress to a curated audience of sales agents, distributors, festival programmers, and broadcasters. This year’s presentation takes place May 10 in Warsaw.