The 22nd edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity kicks off this week! Wojciech Diduszko, Director of the MDAG Polish Competition, presents the ten films in this year’s lineup:
“For the sixth time now, MDAG presents the best Polish documentaries – the Polish Competition is extremely popular, and Polish film premieres are among the first screenings to sell out in every festival city. This year, the films in competition are stunning in their diversity of topics, artistic courage, and production scale. I can’t wait to see the filmmakers meet the audience! It’s moments like these that make the whole year of hard work worth it.”
“Trains”, dir. Maciej Drygas
Producer: Vita Zelakeviciute
The greatest triumph of Polish cinema in 2024 – winner of the IDFA festival in Amsterdam, the world's largest and most prestigious documentary festival. A philosophical essay based on mesmerizing archival footage, showing a world ruled by Thanatos. A monumental film by a legend of Polish cinema that will go down in the history of the art form. They simply don’t make films like this anymore.
“Trust Me”, dir. Joanna Ratajczak
Producer: Stanisław Zaborowski
Polyamory – yes or no? In Berlin, a bohemian Polish-German couple in their 40s opens their relationship. How will it end? We’ll find out straight from the protagonists, who will be present in Warsaw! A bold, energetic, and unapologetic debut by Joanna Ratajczak.
“The Guest”, dir. Zuza Solakiewicz, Zvika Gregory Portnoy, co-dir. Michał Bielawski
Producer: Maria Krauss
“Guest in the house, God in the house” – or is that really true? What happens when a guest from Syria arrives at a home in Podlasie? Zuza Solakiewicz and Zvika Portnoy made a film about the border zone closed off to outsiders. The nightmare for refugees continues, while ordinary people show more heart than cynical politicians. The protagonists – and yes, that word fits perfectly – will join us for the premiere in Warsaw.
“Kompleta”, dir. Magda Hueckel, Tomasz Śliwiński
Producer: Katarzyna Malinowska
A film about love and how art can help us confront our deepest fears and guide us through darkness. Striking in form and deeply moving, it’s another powerful work by Oscar® nominees Magda Hueckel and Tomasz Śliwiński, with a stunning score by Stefan Wesołowski.
“King Matt the First”, dir. Jaśmina Wójcik
Producer: Marta Dużbabel
Jaśmina Wójcik returns to MDAG after the memorable Symphony of the Ursus Factory. Her new film, inspired by Janusz Korczak, is a magical reflection on childhood that stirs long-forgotten questions in the viewer. How do we lose our childhood? Can we preserve any of it as adults? How much do our early memories shape us? Visually stunning and deeply sensual.
“Letters from Wolf Street”, dir. Arjun Talwar
Producer: Karolina Śmigiel
Arjun Talwar, originally from India, came to Poland to study film directing, drawn by Polish arthouse cinema. Reality hit a bit differently. To make sense of it all, he made a film about his street – Wilcza. The result is a bittersweet, humorous portrait of Warsaw and Poland, full of sharp and surprising insights into the national character. It wowed audiences at Berlinale – and it’s bound to be an even bigger hit at home.
“My Dear Theo”, dir. Alisa Kovalenko
Producer: Kasia Kuczyńska
One of Ukraine’s most acclaimed filmmakers, Alisa Kovalenko, put down her camera and picked up a rifle in the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Like hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, she defended her homeland. From the front lines, she recorded moving video messages for her five-year-old son Theo, knowing any of them could be her last. A profoundly emotional film about love for a child, for one’s country, and for freedom. The protagonists will attend the Warsaw premiere.
“The Passenger Andrzej Munk”, dir. Michał Bielawski
Producer: Katarzyna Malinowska
A film about the greatest director in the history of Polish cinema – at least according to Andrzej Wajda. A dynamic, fast-paced portrait of an artist who remains an exceptional figure in Polish film to this day. Munk used irony, humor, and effortlessly moved between genres. He had no taste for romanticism or heroism and looked deep into the human psyche. The screening will be accompanied by a retrospective of Munk’s most outstanding works at the Iluzjon cinema.
“Bedrock”, dir. Kinga Michalska
Producer: Ania Gawlita
Polish memory of the Holocaust has been explored in many films, but this one stands out. Not only for its unique choice of locations and characters, but also for its distinctive visual arts-inspired form. Residents of Jedwabne, football hooligans from Oświęcim, a Polish Jew tending graves, a little girl growing up in the shadow of a psychiatric hospital – all live with unspoken trauma, among the ghosts of the past. Pair this film with the exceptional book Traumaland, which explores the dark depths of the Polish soul in a similar way.
“Das Deutsche Volk”, dir. Marcin Wierzchowski
A Polish director living in Germany explores a far-right terrorist attack that targeted people with immigrant backgrounds. The state washes its hands of responsibility – would it be the same if the victims were white and the perpetrator not German-born? Out of this traumatic event, a community of survivors emerges to stand up to a heartless bureaucracy. Something has cracked in the soul of Europe’s richest country – this film offers a gripping and intimate look at that fracture.
The 22nd MDAG will take place from May 9 to 18, 2025, in cinemas in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Bydgoszcz, and Łódź, and from May 20 to June 2 online at mdag.pl! The festival’s title sponsor is Bank Millennium. ([https://www.bankmillennium.pl/](https://www.bankmillennium.pl/)).
„Zaufaj mi”, reż. Joanna Ratajczak, prod. Stanisław Zaborowski
