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.

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.

It takes a brave, thoughtful - and importantly, compassionate - person to focus their comedy spotlight onto one of the most awful situations of modern times, and that is exactly what Israeli activist-comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi does in her comedy show, which draws on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, offering up a prescient and unique voice amidst all the horror.

At MDAG Industry Days, BDE caught up with Aliona Kachkan of Ukrainian production company TABOR ahead of her presentation of new project, Missing in Action. “Although the film is rooted in the context of war, the theme of disappearance extends far beyond it,” she says. “It touches on the broader, universal experience of absence, unresolved grief, and the human need for closure, whether caused by migration, political repression, social injustice, or natural disasters.”

“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.

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.