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Two new sections in the program of the 22nd edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity – Political Studies and Investigative Journalism – are united by the theme of power and the methods used to exercise it. They offer insight into the mechanisms politicians use to manipulate the public, as well as the tools used by independent media to uncover these strategies and help us live more consciously.
We also know the documentary projects selected for three out of five pitching sessions that will take place during this year’s MDAG Industry.
Section Political Studies
This section explores the influence of those in power on our reality and dissects their methods of action. Some of the previously announced films include Das Deutsche Volk, The Sun Under the Flags, The Bibi Files, and Songs of Slow Burning Earth. We now present the remaining titles.
A key theme in this section is the rise of the far right. Democracy Noir, directed by Connie Field, tells the moving story of three women resisting Viktor Orbán’s regime. The topic of radicalization is also addressed by Petra Costa – Oscar®-nominated for The Edge of Democracy – in her latest film Apocalypse in the Tropics, which documents the growth of Brazil’s far-right evangelical movement.
A particularly notable title is Happiness to All by Filip Remunda, a story about a former nuclear physicist who now works as a bricklayer, lives below the poverty line, and runs an anti-capitalist blog in Russia.
Two other films in the section take us back to history that still shapes the current geopolitical landscape. In The Helsinki Effect, Arthur Franc examines the 1975 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe – a political chess game during the Cold War. The 1957 Transcripts by Ayelet Heller tells the story of the massacre in the Palestinian village of Kafr Qasim, where the Israeli Border Police killed 49 residents.
The section concludes with Men of War, directed by Billy Corben and Jen Gatien, which tells the story of former U.S. commando Jordan Goudreau and the failed coup attempt in Venezuela in 2020.
Investigative Journalism
This section features films about the work of investigative journalists who uncover events and processes that politicians, governments, corporations, criminals, and business elites attempt to conceal. Previously announced titles include The Black Swan and Hacking Hate.
Another featured film is Blame by Christian Frei, in which scientists who had long warned of a bat-borne pandemic find themselves accused and caught in the middle of a political and scientific controversy.
The theme of corporate influence appears in Lie To Me by Bår Tyrmi, which explores the largest financial pyramid in the world: OneCoin. Meanwhile, A Dangerous Boy by Ole Bendtzen follows Siggi, who became a hacker for WikiLeaks at the age of 12 and, at 14, exposed corruption in Icelandic banks.
A major highlight of the section is The Grab by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, winner of the award for Best Documentary at the San Diego festival. It tells the story of an investigative journalist tracking the secret global race for control over the planet’s most vital resources – arable land and water.
The final title in the section is Undercover: Exposing The Far Right by Havana Marking, in which the British organization Hope Not Hate fights hate speech and investigates the funding and operations of far-right extremist networks.
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/).
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