During the May 7 Opening Ceremony of the 23rd Millennium Docs Against Gravity, the feature documentary Fiume o morte! by Igor Bezinović was awarded the inaugural FIPRESCI Documentary Grand Prix, following a a vote by members of the International Federation of Film Critics from around the world.
Synopsis: One hundred years after the peculiar occupation of Fiume in 1919 by Gabriele D’Annunzio, Rijeka-born director Igor Bezinović teams up with 300 residents to create a subversive, punk-style re-enactment that dismantles nationalist myths and exposes the spectacle of political performativity.
The film has already received the European Film Award for Best European Documentary and was recognized at the Rotterdam festival, where it won both the Tiger Award in the Main Competition and the FIPRESCI Jury Prize.
A screening of the award-winning film, followed by a Q&A with the director, will take place on Saturday, May 9 during MDAG. The meeting will be hosted by Paola Casella, an Italian film critic and Vice President of FIPRESCI.
The other docs nominated this year for the FIPRESCI Documentary Grand Prix were:
- 2000 Meters to Andriivka by Mstyslav Chernov
- Mr. Nobody Against Putin by David Borenstein, Pavel Talanki
- Orwell: 2+2=5 by Raoul Peck
- The Perfect Neighbor by Geeta Gandbhir
As of this year, MDAG will also host a three-member FIPRESCI Jury, which will present its own award to a film in the Main Competition. The winner will be announced on May 14 during the Awards Ceremony. “That evening will also reveal the recipient of the Grand Prix – the Bank Millennium Award, which opens the path to the most prestigious honours in world cinema,” the festival writes
Millennium Docs Against Gravity is on the list of festivals qualifying for the Academy Awards® in the Best Documentary Feature category and also recommends films for the European Film Awards.
The 23rd edition of MDAG takes place from May 8–17, 2026, in cinemas in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Bydgoszcz and Łódź, and online from May 19 to June 1 at mdag.pl.
