Millennium Docs Against Gravity is one of the largest documentary film festivals in the world and the third largest in Europe. It is also the only film festival in Europe that takes place simultaneously in seven different cities: Warsaw, Gdynia, Wrocław, Bydgoszcz, Katowice, Poznań, and Łódź.
We warmly invite filmmakers to submit their films for the 22nd edition of MDAG. The festival will take place from May 9-18, 2025, in cinemas, and from May 20 to June 2 online at mdag.pl.
MDAG is on the List of Oscar® Qualifying Festivals. It means that from the 22nd edition in 2025, the Grand Prix – Bank Millennium Award winner will have a clear path to the Oscars®. The film will no longer need to fulfill the additional conditions required to compete for the world’s most prestigious film award (all requirements are available here: https://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility).
In May 2024, for the twenty-first time, we invited audiences to embark on a cinematic journey around the world. More than 165,000 people attended both parts of the festival, watching nearly 190 films!
MDAG attracts crowds of festival-goers each year due to its film program and numerous accompanying events. In addition to screenings and Q&A sessions with creators and protagonists, the festival also offers concerts, exhibitions, and weekend parties.
For the past three years, MDAG has also featured industry events—MDAG Industry—drawing key figures in documentary cinema from around the world to Warsaw, as well as filmmakers developing their projects.
COMMUNICATION.MDAG.PL - everything about the festival in one place
All data regarding festival’s structure and audience development, events, awards, year-round film cycles, number of publications, and media reach are constantly available on the official MDAG website in the "Communication" section (https://www.communication.mdag.pl/english-menu). The festival is committed to full transparency and providing access to key data about its growth.
In doing so, Millennium Docs Against Gravity sets new standards of transparency among Polish film festivals. The festival commissions professional audience research and media monitoring, which has enabled the presentation of specific and comprehensive results.
The festival's mission to promote film culture is highly appreciated by its audience and the media. A Net Promoter Score of 69—an exceptionally high result—reflects the satisfaction of participants in the 21st edition of MDAG. As many as 78% of respondents in the survey are festival promoters. Media interest is equally strong. In 2024, 7,035 media pieces were published, resulting in a record-breaking Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE) of 39,854,505 PLN.
In 2022 the European Film Academy included Millennium Docs Against Gravity among the most important European festivals, which means the possibility of qualifying films for the European Film Award. Thanks to this, films shown and awarded at our festival have an incredible chance to compete for the European Film Awards. Additionally, Millennium Docs Against Gravity recommends films for these awards.
Millennium Docs Against Gravity is a co-founder and a member of the Doc Alliance network, which brings together seven key European documentary film festivals: CPH:DOX Copenhagen, DOK Leipzig, IDFF Jihlava, FID Marseille, Visions du Réel Nyon, Doclisboa and MDAG.
How to submit a film?
For the competition sections we accept films which would have their Polish premiere at the festival and are over 45 minutes long.
The deadline for submissions is January 6, 2025.
Submission fee for one film: 15 euros.
In order to submit your film fill out the submissions form via Eventival. Please register to Eventival at https://vp.eventival.com/mdagff/2025 and fill Film Submissions Form.
In case of any queries please contact us at: submission@againstgravity.pl
Queries about the festival: kontakt@againstgravity.pl
