Millennium Docs Against Gravity (MDAG) festival This is one of the largest events devoted to documentary cinema in Europe. This year’s 22nd edition will start on May 9 and will last until May 18. The event will take place in seven cities – in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Łódź and Bydgoszcz.
As he emphasized Festival director Artur LiebhartMDAG to “island for sensitivefor those who want to know more about the world in which they live. “
“It is a place for people for whom the concept of empathy – despite current turmoil between the two sides of the Atlantic – is still important. A place for people curious about the world. The slogan ‘The whole world between us’ is quite roomy. It concerns the fact that our festival takes place simultaneously in seven cities in Poland. The creators go to meetings outside Warsaw, to other festival cities. But it also applies to the whole festival family – this is the fourth generation that this festival organizes. We are very happy that we are an interesting place for young people, “he told journalists.
12 titles will compete in the main competition. The chance for the Bank Millennium award was gained by, among others “Trains” by Maciej Drygas, “Sudden flashes of the depth of existence” by Marek Cousins, “Baby Doe” Jessica Earnshaw and “And the desire” Myrid Carten.
“They are here The greatest films of the seasonrealized by creators and creators from around the world. These images depict the world from very different social and political perspectives. We hope that the documents will deepen the prospects of the most important stories that are currently happening in the world – both in the east and west from Poland, “MDAG director pointed out.
He was also among the nominees for the main prize “Coexistence, My Ass!” Amber Fares – opening film this year’s festival. The projection will be accompanied by a meeting with the heroine of the film, comic and activist Noam Shuster-Liassi.
“This Israel was lucky – and for some misfortune – that she grew up in the only place in Israel where Palestinians and Jews live side by side. For many years she was an advocate of the coexistence of both nations. She represented this idea in the United Nations. At some point she came up with the idea that stand -up was a very interesting form of showing common things of both nations. Palestinians.
For the first time in the history of the festival, the Grand Prix winner will have an open way to fight for an Oscar in the best full -length documentary film category. MDAG was on the list of festivals qualifying for the Awards of the American Film Academy.
10 documents were qualified for the Polish competition. Among them are among them “Letters from Wilcza” Arjuna Talwara, “Under the surface” of Kinga Michalska, “Das Deutsche Volk” by Marcin Wierzchowski and “Trust me” by Joanna Ratajczak.
Once again, during the festival, we will also meet the laureate Green Warsaw Awardawards funded by the Capital City of Warsaw. The competition accompanies the climate section for change.
Among the titles that cannot be missed, the director of MDAG mentioned “Kuba, west of Zapaty” by David Bim. “The picture tells about the family. The father hunts on the segattors and thus keeps his loved ones. The mother deals with the sick son. This is a film that refers to the greatest formal and photo traditions of documentary cinema. I can compare him to the works of Sergey Dworcewoj” – he emphasized.
According to Liebhart, it is also worth paying attention to, among others on David Osit’s “predators” devoted to the television show of Chris Hansen “catch a predator” prepared by the NBC. “The program consisted in the fact that very young people lured potential criminals into their homes. When these people were allowed into them, the team popped up, and the police waited behind the door to take the delinquent of the handcuffs. (…) The show came down very quickly. What attracts us in them.
Liebhart on his list “Must have” also placed, among others “Sudden flashes of the depth of existence” by Marek Cousins, “And the desire” Myrid Carten, “They are they: John and Yoko” by Kevin Macdonald and “Only on earth” Robin Petre.
The 22nd Millennium Docs Against Gravity festival will last from 9 to 18 May in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Łódź and Bydgoszcz. The online part will take place from May 20 – June 2. Details can be obtained on the official website of the festival.