Outstanding figures not only from the world of cinema but also from the fields of art and culture, leaders of social change. Oscar® winners and multiple-time nominees for the most prestigious awards in cinema. For ten days in May, Millennium Docs Against Gravity will become home to all these exceptional people from around the world who shape the documentary industry.
This year’s juries have a particularly difficult task — they must choose the winners from among emotionally moving and artistically accomplished films. In total, 20 awards will be given across 16 competitions in all seven festival cities. The main juries will comprise 21 people, including 11 women and 10 men.
An inseparable element of MDAG are the audience-voted competitions (for many filmmakers, the most important), where viewers select the winners. This year, audiences will grant the Onet Big Screen Doc Award (voting in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, and Poznań) as well as the Audience Award in Warsaw. The most-watched film in the online portion of the festival will receive the Online Audience Award.
The 22nd MDAG will take place from May 9 to 18, 2025, in cinemas across seven cities (Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Łódź, and Bydgoszcz) and from May 20 to June 2 online at mdag.pl!
Main Competition Jury
In the MDAG Main Competition, 12 films will compete for the Grand Prix – Bank Millennium Award and €8,000! The award is sponsored by Bank Millennium.
The winner will also be one step closer to the most prestigious film award in the world, as MDAG is listed among the Oscar®-qualifying festivals in the Best Feature Documentary category. The jury will include: Simon Lereng Wilmont, Rémi Grellety, and Salma Abdalla.
Salma Abdalla – currently a specialist in international relations and PR at the Austrian Film Institute. Previously, in 2016, she became managing director at Autlook Filmsales, one of the leading sales agencies for documentary films and series. Abdalla gives lectures and conducts workshops at major film festivals, focusing on rights management and distribution.
Simon Lereng Wilmont – director whose debut The Distant Barking of Dogs (2017) won over 35 awards, including a Peabody, was nominated for an EFA, an Emmy, and was shortlisted for the Oscar®. His next film, A House Made of Splinters, won the Best Director Award at Sundance and was also nominated for an Oscar®.
Rémi Grellety – film producer, twice nominated for an Oscar®. For 15 years he collaborated with Raoul Peck (Velvet Film), producing, among others, I Am Not Your Negro and the HBO miniseries Exterminate All the Brutes. Founder of Warboys Films. His latest film, The Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (2024), won the Special Jury Award at Sundance.
Polish Competition Jury
Once again, MDAG will feature outstanding Polish films. The Polish Competition showcases the remarkable quality of national cinema and the diversity of topics tackled by filmmakers. Ten titles have been selected to compete for the Best Polish Film Award and €4,000. The jury will include: Jakub Popielecki, Dorota Lech, and Victoria Leshchenko.
Jakub Popielecki – film expert, deputy editor-in-chief of Filmweb, head of the editorial section. Published in Przekrój and Dwutygodnik, among others. Winner of the Krzysztof Mętrak Competition. Co-author of books on Cronenberg and Lynch, co-host of the podcast Mam parę uwag.
Dorota Lech – film curator and writer. At TIFF, she’s responsible for the Discovery program and selects films from Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, Turkey, and Iran. Published in Vanity Fairand MUBI Notebook. Guest lecturer at Harvard, among others. Curator of screenings at Reina Sofia, Filmoteca Española, and the Academy Museum in LA. In 2024, named a Future Leader in Film Programming by Screen International.
Victoria Leshchenko – Ukrainian curator and cultural event producer living in Berlin. Between 2007–2011, she worked in various roles at Molodist KIFF and has been associated with Docudays UA since 2010 — initially as a program coordinator and since February 2019 as program director. Since May 2023, she has served as program coordinator at DOK Leipzig.
Short Film Competition Jury
The films in the Short Film Competition do not exceed 45 minutes in length. Thanks to their diverse themes, they provide an ideal starting point for exploring topics developed in feature-length films at the festival. The award in this competition is €2,000. The jury will include: Petr Lom, Theodore Grouya, and Beata Pacak.
Theodore Grouya – award-winning filmmaker and festival director of AmDocs and ADAFF. Worked in Hollywood and directed television programs. Studied international relations in Australia, worked for the U.S. Department of State. Currently focused on film production and education.
Petr Lom – director of human rights documentaries, formerly a political philosophy lecturer at CEU and PhD in philosophy from Harvard. His films have been shown at over 450 festivals, including Sundance, Venice, and Berlinale. Member of AMPAS. Creator of I Am the River, the River Is Me (2023) and co-creator of Myanmar Diaries.
Beata Pacak – for many years, a program editor at the Film Department of Polish Television, responsible for selecting titles and supervising the production of films and series. Long associated with the Two Riversides Film and Art Festival. Currently selects feature films, documentaries, and shorts for CANAL+Polska and Ale kino+.
Best Cinematography Award Jury
This competition features 10 titles that stand out visually. The €2,000 award for best cinematography will go to the cinematographer of the winning film! The jury will include: Małgorzata Imielska, Zuzanna Zachara-Hassairi, and Paweł Kocan.
Małgorzata Imielska – screenwriter and director. Her feature debut All for My Mother (2019) won numerous awards. Her latest documentary Just Hear Me Out received two special mentions at MDAG 2024.
Zuzanna Zachara-Hassairi – award-winning cinematographer for documentaries and narrative films. Highlighted by Culture.pl as one of the 10 most interesting cinematographers under 40 in Poland.
Paweł Kocan – photographer, graduate of Russian Studies at the University of Wrocław and the Academy of Photography. Member of the Czwartek collective. After years in commercial photography, he now creates social media content and runs a DIY YouTube channel. Photographer for this year’s MDAG poster.
Chopin’s Nose Award Jury This year’s festival will once again include the Chopin’s Nose Award and €2,000 for the best film about music and art. The jury will include: Dr. Magdalena Wróblewska, Łukasz Kowalski, and Katarzyna Warzecha.
Dr. Magdalena Wróblewska – director of the State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw, lecturer at the Faculty of Artes Liberales at the University of Warsaw. Author of books including Fotografie ruin, ruiny fotografii. 1944-2014 (2014) i Obrazy pamięci i wiedzy. Fotograficzne reprodukcje dzieł w archiwach i narracjach historii sztuki (2022).
Katarzyna Warzecha – director and screenwriter, graduate of the Film School in Katowice and the Wajda School. Co-director of Agnieszka Holland’s The Green Border. Her documentary We Have One Heart (2021) was acclaimed at major film festivals worldwide.
Łukasz Kowalski – Polish director, journalist, and film producer. Winner of the Polish Film Academy’s “Orły” award and the MDAG Grand Prix. His debut documentary The Pawnshop won 26 international awards. He runs the production company 4.30 Studio.
Amnesty International Poland Jury
Films in this competition address human rights and depict psychological, social, and political mechanisms that shape our lives. The €3,000 award honors filmmakers whose work illustrates what human rights are. The award is sponsored by Amnesty International Poland. The jury will include: Anna Błaszczak-Banasiak, Joanna Szymańska, and Guy Davidi.
Guy Davidi – Oscar®-nominated and Emmy-winning director of 5 Broken Cameras (2012), honored at Sundance and IDFA. For over 20 years, he has made films about human rights and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His film Mixed Feelings (2016) won an award at the Epos Festival, and his latest film Innocence (2022) premiered in Venice. Listed among IMDb’s 50 Most Daring Filmmakers. Teaches directing around the world.
Joanna Szymańska – film producer, activist, vice-chair of the European Film Academy Council. Graduate in film studies from Jagiellonian University’s Faculty of Management and Social Communication and in law from the University of Warsaw. From 2011–2013, head of production at Wajda Studio. Co-founder of the Young Producers Section of KIPA, which she chaired from 2013–2016.
Anna Błaszczak-Banasiak – director of Amnesty International in Poland since 2022. Has worked in human rights for over 15 years. Lawyer, attorney, activist, expert in anti-discrimination law. Worked in the European Parliament and, for 14 years, in the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, where she served as head of the Equal Treatment Team.
Green Warsaw Award Jury
The Green Warsaw Award, worth PLN 15,000, will go to the best film on ecological themes. The competition is accompanied by the film section Climate for Change. The award is funded by the City of Warsaw. The jury will include: Agata Szafraniuk, Leszek Drogosz, and Łukasz Czajka.
Agata Szafraniuk – lawyer, president of the ClientEarth Lawyers for the Earth Foundation, working to protect the environment in Poland and Europe. Supported protection efforts for the Białowieża Forest and rivers in the Balkans. Graduate of the University of Warsaw, member of the Warsaw Bar. Believes that law can inspire lasting social and environmental change.
Łukasz Czajka – director, graduate of political science and Latin American studies at the University of Warsaw. Television journalist and creator of adventure video games. Graduate of the DOK PRO directing and SCRIPT screenwriting courses at the Wajda School. Creator of award-winning films Of Animals and Men and Bloodless Revolution. A Short History of the Internet in Poland.
Leszek Drogosz – Director of the Infrastructure Bureau of the City of Warsaw, leader of the capital’s green transition. Actively works to improve environmental quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Represents Warsaw in national and global climate protection organizations.
Other Jury Lineups
The “Newsweek Psychologia” Award for Best Film on Psychological Topics The titles featured in this competition portray the complexity of life and the full spectrum of human emotions and experiences. The editorial board of Newsweek Psychologia will present an award of €1,000 to the best film on psychological topics. The decision will be made by: Iwona Zabielska-Stadnik, Joanna Flis, Joanna Gutral, Małgorzata Osowiecka, Dellfina Dellert, Katarzyna Burda, Małgorzata Mierżyńska, Łukasz Pilip, Artur Stadnik, and Marek Straszewski.
Best Debut Award
A first or second film often allows young, talented filmmakers to successfully enter the world of cinema. In support of emerging talent, the 22nd edition of MDAG will present a €2,000 Best Debut Award, sponsored by Visa, a global leader in digital payments. The Intergenerational Jury—comprising both teenagers and people aged 55+—will decide the winner. The jury members are: Joanna Stańko, Jolanta Woch, Jakub Nagabczyński, Hanna Godzisz, Lena Gajewska, and Lena Giergiczna.
Additional Awards in the Polish Competition
The Smakjam Award for Best Production in the Polish Competition will be presented by the Smakjam studio team. The Polish Cinemas Association Award will be presented by cinema professionals: Piotr Stelmaszczuk (CKF ZORZA, Chełm), Ada Skórnicka (Kino Pałacowe, Poznań), and Michał Konarski (Kinoteka, Warsaw).
Selected Guests of the 22nd MDAG
One of the most important parts of the festival is the opportunity to meet guests who come to MDAG to answer audience questions and participate in debates and industry events. Here are some of the special guests appearing at the festival in May:
• Asif Kapadia – Oscar® winner, director of 2073, Amy (The Best of MDAG), and Sienna
• Guy Davidi – director of 5 Broken Cameras (The Best of MDAG)
• Lauren Greenfield – director of the series Social Studies and the film Kingmaker (The Best of MDAG)
• Mads Brügger – director of the series The Black Swan
• David France – director of To Free Leonard Peltier, Welcome to Chechnya (The Best of MDAG)
• Alex Gibney – Oscar® winner, producer of The Bibi Files
• Andreas Veiel – director of Riefenstahl and Beuys (The Best of MDAG)
• Christian Frei – director of Blame
• Carmen Chaplin – director of Charlie Chaplin: The Spirit of the Tramp, granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin
• Noam Shuster-Eliassi – Israeli activist and comedian, featured in the Main Competition film Coexistence, My Ass
• Dr. Maurizio Bini – head of the Assisted Medical Reproduction Unit at Niguarda Hospital in Milan, featured in GEN_ by Gianluca Matarrese
• Chief Woos – leader of the Wet'suwet'en Nation, an Indigenous community in northwest Canada fighting for land rights, featured in the film Yintah
• Olivier Sarbil – cinematographer, war photojournalist, director of Viktor
• Petr Lom – director of The Coriolis Effect
• Brandon Kramer – director of Holding Liat
• Alisa Kovalenko – Ukrainian soldier and director of My Dear Théo
• Gunnar Hall Jensen – director of Portrait of a Confused Father and Gunnar Goes God (The Best of MDAG)
• Rémi Grellety – producer of Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (The Best of MDAG)
• Mark Cousins – director of the Main Competition film ASudden Glimpses of Deeper Things, as well as films from the retrospective History of Looking. The Mark Cousins Retrospective: I Am Belfast, Women Make Film, The Story of Film: A New Generation. He will also host a masterclass at MDAG Industry
• Alexis Bloom – director of The Bibi Files and Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg
• Mstyslav Chernov – Oscar® winner for 20 Days in Mariupol, director of 2,000 Meters to Andriivka
