The Onet Big Screen Doc Award contest is a collection of 12 engaging, beautifully produced films that present widely discussed phenomena from the world of pop culture, sports, and politics in an accessible and intriguing way. They are perfect to experience in a cinema on the big screen.
This year, for the second time, Onet is sponsoring the contest. The largest Polish online portal will introduce all the festival titles to its readers and viewers in valuable articles that will also appear on MDAG’s social media. The festival audience will choose the winner of the Onet Big Screen Doc Award by voting in four cities – Warsaw, Gdynia, Wrocław, and Poznań.
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 online on mdag.pl from May 20 to June 2!
Journeys to the Ends of the Earth
Thanks to several films from the contest’s twelve, we will have the opportunity to escape to nature and take a break from the urban hustle.
“Everest Dark” by Jeremy Watt is a visually captivating film showcasing the beauty of the Himalayas, revealing the precise route to the world’s highest peak from the perspective of the Sherpas. What is discovered there exposes the true price of human pride. A “Flower of Mine” by Paolo Cognetti is the writer’s film debut following the success of his book adaptation, documenting people living peacefully in the valleys around the vast Monte Rosa mountain. “Wishing On a Star” by Peter Kerekes follows Luciana, an astrologer from Naples, who sends her clients on their birthdays to destinations indicated by the stars in order to experience a spiritual transformation. What do they discover there? And what is Luciana herself searching for in life?
A New Perspective on the Lives of Extraordinary Women
Each of these remarkable women has achieved much, though not always for the greater good. They blazed trails, shocked, and kept secrets. Three films competing for the Onet Big Screen Doc Award will tell the stories of these exceptional women.
“Enigma” by Zackary Drucker uncovers previously unknown events from the life of Amanda Lear. April Ashley and Lear allegedly underwent transition at the same time—in the 1950s. We get to know their different, yet strikingly similar, stories from an entirely new perspective on this pop culture icon. “Riefenstahl” by Andreas Veiel offers a profound portrait of one of the most ambiguous figures in history. Leni Riefenstahl was a cinematic genius in the service of Nazi propaganda—what was the “seductive nature of fascism” revealed in her films? “Sally” by Cristina Costantini is a documentary portrait of Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, who concealed her relationship with her partner for 27 years. What was the price of success for her in a homophobic world?
Art Above All!
Being an artist is not just a profession, but a way of life – and the film stories about John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Ernest Cole, and Patrice Jetter prove it.
The starting point of “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found” by Raoul Pecka, nominated for an Oscar®, is the recent discovery of 60,000 negatives of Ernest Cole’s photographs in a Swedish bank. Cole was an outstanding Black photographer who, since the 1960s, captured life in South Africa and later in the USA. What was his tumultuous life like? “One to One: John and Yoko” by Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edward will surprise and delight even the biggest fans of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, focusing on a crucial period of change in their lives when they lived in New York for 18 months between 1971 and 1972. Meanwhile, “Patrice: The Movie” by Ted Passon shows Patrice Jetter, who draws, engages in theater and figure skating, but according to US law cannot easily marry her fiancé Garry due to her disability.
On Politics, War, and the Future of the World
The contest is capped off by excellently executed films about personalities and events that are currently shaping—and will continue to shape—the global order.
“Bibi Files” by Alexis Blom reveals previously unpublished materials, presenting the interrogation of Benjamin Netanyahu by the Israeli police in connection with corruption charges. How did the desperate desire to cling to power in order to avoid accountability cause “Bibi,” as the prime minister is known by Israelis, to adopt an even more radical, ruthless policy? “Viktor” by Olivier Sarbil, the outstanding French photographer, portrays the situation in Ukraine through the prism of the history of the titular Viktor from Kharkiv. He lost his hearing at the age of five and cannot find work. When war breaks out, he is frustrated by his inability to defend his own country and decides to become a war photographer. The film’s extraordinary sound design was created by Oscar® winners for sound in Sound of Metal. “Speak” by Jennifer Tiexiera and Guy Mossman follows the fortunes of five participants in one of the largest public speaking competitions, in which Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt once competed. They may one day have the chance to become the leaders who will help change the world. We eagerly await that day!
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/).
