MDAG Industry, the professional arm of Millennium Docs Against Gravity FF, will take place from 7 to 11 May within Warsaw’s State Ethnographic Museum.
”MDAG Industry is a unique project that brings together Polish filmmakers with international festival representatives, distributors, producers, sales agents and stars of contemporary cinema,” organisers write. ”We started in 2021 with a single event, and since 2022 we have been developing a comprehensive programme of industry events.”
”From working with personal and family archives, through giving voice to communities living in the shadow of political change, to practical accessibility tools – this year, the Industry programme brings together filmmakers, producers and institutions who treat inclusivity not as an add-on, but as a foundation of contemporary documentary cinema,” organisers continue. ”The guiding theme of this year’s programme is the voices that have been kept within the margins for far too long.”
THURSDAY 7.05
Workshop: How to promote documentary film? Documentary film is one of the most fascinating film genres – by telling authentic stories, it allows viewers to immerse themselves in reality and see the world from a new perspective.
At the same time, to effectively reach audiences, it requires a well-thought-out communication and promotion strategy. During the workshop, Joanna Solecka from the Alphapanda agency – a film marketing specialist responsible, among other things, for the Oscar campaign for Mr. Nobody Against Putin – will use this project as an example to demonstrate what effective promotion of a documentary film looks like. She will also talk about her extensive experience working with documentary films and how to build their presence beyond the festival audience.
The workshop is aimed exclusively at operators of arthouse cinemas and film promotion organisations. Its aim is to inspire participants to think about documentary film in a more creative way – as projects capable of attracting a diverse audience, fostering social engagement and building a modern, socially conscious civil society.
MDAG CO-PRO – closed event
MDAG CO-PRO is a networking platform for producers aimed at developing international documentary co-productions. Each edition of the event focuses on cooperation between Poland and a different European country. Sweden will be the first partner. The platform connects Polish producers with international partners through an open call for entries, a selection process and pitching sessions. Each year, 5–7 projects are selected from Poland and the partner country – including both productions seeking co-producers and producers looking for projects to join. The selected projects are presented in English to producers and representatives of film institutes. Partners: Polish Film Institute, Swedish Film Institute, Embassy of Sweden.
MEET THE PROJECTS session
FRIDAY 8.05
KIPA Breakfast: KIPA Breakfast is an initiative launched in cooperation with the Polish Producers Alliance and their Young Producers Section. It offers an opportunity to network and meet representatives of leading film organisations, production companies, sales and distribution specialists as well as creators.
Progress Pitching Session + Shoshannah Stern Keynote Speech
An event dedicated to visually interesting, creative documentary projects with international potential. It is an excellent chance to discover films which are looking for international co-production or distribution opportunities in their different phases, from concept to post-production. Selected finalists will present their projects to leading Polish and international film industry representatives: producers, investors, sales agents, distributors and festival programmers. The pitching aims to leverage the festival guests’ expertise and create a place where world-class projects are born. The pitching session will be followed by one-on-one meetings.
The pitching session will open with a keynote speech by Shoshannah Stern: An Authentic Representation. The session will be moderated by Martijn te Pas.
MEET THE PROJECTS session
Masterclass: Creative Editing: Gandini & Söderberg on Collaboration
Acclaimed director Erik Gandini (“Surplus: Terrorized into Being Consumers”, 2003; “Videocracy”, 2009; “The Swedish Theory of Love”, 2015; “After Work”, 2023) joins long-time collaborator, editor and composer Johan Söderberg for this insightful masterclass on their 25-year creative partnership. Through case studies of past projects (many presented at MDAG and distributed in Poland), they’ll reveal their collaborative workflow – from initial ideas to final cuts. Gain practical insights into the director-editor dynamic, with a sneak peek at their upcoming project.
SATURDAY 9.05
Remote Intimacy: Building Connection in a Distant Documentary. Masterclass by Soraya Akhalaghi and Mehrdad Oskouei
How can a filmmaker create an intimate, truthful documentary without meeting the protagonist in person? In this masterclass, director Mehrdad Oskouei and protagonist Soraya Akhalaghi reflect on their unique seven-year process of remote collaboration that grew into a profound relationship and a completed joint film. They will share the artistic and emotional challenges of working at a distance, the trust and patience that sustained their partnership, and how the digital age continues to reshape personal documentary storytelling under conditions of restriction and separation. The event will take place as part of the 7th Documentary Film Forum for Young Audiences.
7th Documentary Film Forum for Young Audiences
The festival invites everyone supporting the idea of Polish documentary film for young audiences – filmmakers, producers, distributors, educators, teachers, and parents – to participate in the Forum. It will talk about the idea behind the Jump In the Doc programme. Why is it worth creating and financing Polish children’s documentaries? The event’s highlight will be the pitches of eight projects from the fourth edition of the programme. The best will be awarded prizes by festival partners. The pitching session will be followed by one-on-one meetings. The event is organised by The Wajda Film Centre.
DocStudio: Emotional Realism in Observational Documentary
How can documentary filmmaking move beyond recording events, and move towards representing feelings? Culture writer, critic,and film curator Murtada Elfadl joins directors Michał Marczak (“Closure”) and Alain Arnaud (“The Hidden Face of the Earth”) to discuss the process of finding emotional truths while observing documentary protagonists. The conversation will consider how observational documentary can move beyond mere recording of reality to reveal not just what happens, but how it is felt – foregrounding emotions and the inner lives of its characters. The event will take place in Bar Studio.
SUNDAY 10.05
Discussion Panel: Against Despair – Short Documentaries as Acts of Resistance
Turbulent times call for renewed courage and new ways of thinking. The filmmakers on this panel embody both through the form of short documentaries. Whether as directors, programmers, institutions, or critics, they face the challenges posed by shifting or even hostile political landscapes head on, and have devised strategies to either cope with, or contest, our challenging times. This conversation will explore how short documentary filmmaking can serve as a space for resistance, reflection, and reinvention – offering a vivid, contemporary picture of cinema that acts against despair. The event will be hosted by Anas Sareen, with Alisa Kovalenko and Anne Gaschütz as speakers. Event partner: Institute of Documentary Film
Short Pitch Program
The pitch presentation takes the form of 10-minute presentations for each of 7 short films, which will be followed by the individual meetings between participants and the decision makers consisting of sales, buyers and festival representatives. The event will include consultations with experts prior to the pitch, in order to improve their presentation skills and update the project pitch decks for the specific audience of decision makers. The event is organised by the Institute of Documentary Film and Millennium Docs Against Gravity. Emilia Mazik will be the moderator.
Pole Position – Pitching
An experimental pitch of Polish films that are already completed and included in the program of the 23rd Millennium Docs Against Gravity. The short presentations will encourage foreign guests to watch the film and include it in their festival programme, or for distribution. This is a unique opportunity for filmmakers to attract the best industry professionals. The pitching session will be moderated by Zofia Jaroszuk.
MONDAY 11.05
Think Like a Filmmaker. Masterclass by Alan Berliner
Alan Berliner will take the audience on a guided tour through the sounds, images, themes and storytelling strategies that have helped define his filmmaking career for more than four decades. Berliner will show examples from his films that help us understand both the risks and rewards of using one’s own life as a “living laboratory,” and how and why he’s devoted his life to exploring the personal, familial and cultural dimensions of identity, memory, aging, love, family relationships, and the fragility of the human condition. Berliner’s masterclass will also focus on the process of editing, using clips from his films to illustrate how he creates compellingly dynamic montages from the compilation, collage, and counterpoint of a wide variety of personal, poetic, historical, archival, and musical sources – and how he creates films in which the way a story is told can be as interesting as the story he is telling.
Workshop by Polish Film Institute: Removing Barriers – Accessibility in Practice of Film Production
The workshop will address the most common challenges faced by producers in relation to the Polish Film Institute’s accessibility requirements, planning accessibility costs, and selecting qualified accessibility service providers. Participants will learn about their formal obligations, walk through key stages of the production process from an accessibility perspective, and review examples of good practices as well as common mistakes. A meeting with audiences with diverse needs will complement the formal perspective with a social dimension. It is intended that after the workshop each participant will leave with a clear understanding of their responsibilities, ready-to-use tools, and the confidence to implement accessibility in their own productions.
MDAG Industry is organized in collaboration with CANAL+ Polska. The section is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
