The 23rd MDAG kicks off this week! As every year, the Polish Competition will feature the best Polish documentary films. In the second episode of the Festival Studio, Wojciech Diduszko, Director of the Polish Competition, speaks with their creators.
The Polish documentaries presented in the MDAG Polish Competition consistently confirm their undeniable quality and significance year after year. The second episode of the Festival Studio is dedicated to the exceptional craftsmanship of the creators of these productions. It is a perfect opportunity to go behind the scenes of Polish films that will soon be shown in festival cinemas.
The latest episode of the Festival Studio offers essential insight into all the films competing in the Polish Competition. Here are the Polish productions that made it into the top ten:
"Closure" (Bez końca), dir. Michał Marczak
"Confessions of a Mole", dir. Mo Tan
“Freak Show”, dir. Łukasz Ronduda, Filip Pawlak
"My Themersons" (Moi Themersonowie), dir. Marcin Borchardt
“Traces" (Ślady), dir. Alisa Kovalenko, Marysia Nikitiuk
“Nurt” (The Current), dir. Rafał Skalski
"Candidates of Death" (Kandydaci śmierci), dir. Maciej Cuske
“Bigger Picture" (Arek.Mama.Panorama), dir. Mikołaj Janik
"Ewa – The Last Lesson" (Ewa – Ostatnia lekcja), dir. Andrea Mura, Federico Savonitto
"Bodies (of War)" (Ciało wojny), dir. Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert
Mateusz Góra, Director of the Short Film Competition, also spoke about the Polish films selected for that section. They are: “I’m Painting a Self-portrait, but All I See Is My Sister’s Face" (Maluję swój autoportret, a wychodzi mi moja siostra) by Helena Stańczyk, “Twin Days” by Sara and Nadia Szymańska, “Heads in the Clouds" (Bujając w obłokach) by Mieszko Chomka, and “Mentor” by Krzysztof Tomaszewski.
The 23rd MDAG will take place from May 8–17, 2026, in cinemas in seven cities (Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Łódź, and Bydgoszcz), and online from May 19 to June 1 at mdag.pl. It is the largest film festival in Poland and the second-largest documentary film festival in Europe, attracting more than 181,000 viewers in 2025.
The screening schedule for all seven festival cities is available at mdag.pl, and ticket sales for individual screenings have begun. Tickets can be purchased online or at cinema box offices via the festival website.
A few days before the start of MDAG, the Director of the Polish Competition has also prepared for audiences a list of his favorite… foreign films, which he also programmed. Here are a few words from Wojciech Diduszko about selected must-see titles at the 23rd MDAG:
“Whispers in the Woods", dir. Vincent Munier
One and a half million French viewers can’t be wrong! That’s how many people along the Seine went to see this film in cinemas—will we do worse? A soothing forest bath filled with wise conversations between a grandfather and grandson observing the nature of the French Vosges and Norway. Featuring extraordinary music by Warren Ellis and Hildur Guðnadóttir. A wonderful cinematic and sensory experience—at one screening in Warsaw there will even be forest-scent diffusers, and a special cosmetics line inspired by the film has been created. The director, Vincent Munier, is also the author of “The Velvet Queen.”
"A Fox Under a Pink Moon", dir. Mehrdad Oskouei, Soraya Akhalaghi
The face of the charismatic heroine of this film adorns this year’s festival poster. Soraya, an Afghan woman, has been trying for years to make her way from Iran to Greece. A young artist, almost still a child, trapped in an abusive marriage, she discovers extraordinary strength within herself—often through art, which becomes both her salvation and her instinctive way of communicating with the world. A hopeful and energetic story of the fight for dignity and a better life. And a mysterious fox wandering across the screen.
“Nuisance Bear", dir. Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman
[A polar bear emerging from the water]
Winner at Sundance! Alaska. Bears venture too close to human settlements. A film about a community composed not only of people but also the animals that live there—a story of coexistence, harm, and forgiveness. Great cinema.
“Mariinka”, dir. Pieter-Jan de Pue
[A woman in military fatigues sits on the wreckage of a delivery truck and gazes into the distance. In the background are a gate, grass, and the rising sun]
A documentary “Come and See” set in present-day Donbas. An absolutely devastating and unconventional portrayal of war, focusing on people caught in the eye of the storm and trying to survive. There is a great deal of poetry and almost visionary imagery, reminding us of the nightmare this part of Europe has faced for 12 years. An outstanding selection of protagonists: brothers fighting on opposite sides of the front line (!), speaking with a third brother who, as a child, ended up in the United States; a young woman delivering goods by bicycle to forgotten villages under the barrels of tanks; people enduring for years in a merciless landscape, mere pawns in a fascist game for the Russians. The film calls on us not to forget them.
“Time and Water", dir. Sara Dosa
[A man sits on a moss-covered cliff and gazes into the distance. Before him lies a vast snow-covered expanse, and in the distance stands a mountain.]
A love poem to Icelandic glaciers, intricately constructed by Sara Dosa, director of the memorable “Fire of Love.” Based on the acclaimed book of the same title, the film is a nostalgic look at a world undergoing inevitable change—the climate crisis transforming the stark Icelandic landscape intertwines with a story of lifelong love. A beautiful, poetic, dreamlike film. At the Warsaw premiere, a mini-concert by Bartek Wąsik will follow the screening.
“WTO/99”, dir. Ian Bell
Seattle, 1999. Back then, it still seemed possible to stop what was coming. Or at least that’s what the anarchists, socialists, and anti-system activists of all stripes (including right-wing ones!) believed when they converged on Seattle to torpedo the establishment of the World Trade Organization. A story of justified social resistance, a gesture of despair in the face of a terrifying globalizing world, and a sharp diagnosis of the nightmare it might bring. Today we are dealing with the consequences of that new global order, seeing clearly that the young idealists were right in trying to stop the wealthy from dividing the world among themselves as if at Yalta. A gripping, extraordinarily energetic film based solely on archival footage (the creators reviewed 1,000 hours of material!)—including television studios, police cameras, and frantic recordings by anarchists.
“To Hold a Mountain", dir. Otilia Portillo Padua
[A young girl and an older woman on a white horse are standing in a mountain clearing, looking to the left]
Jury Prize winner at Sundance—does one need to say more? A must-see for those who loved “Honeyland.” The film is set in Montenegro, where a mother and daughter live in remote mountains. One day they learn that their idyll is to be disrupted by the construction of a NATO base. They organize a movement bringing together local farmers and big-city hipsters. Yet this is not an activist film—the creators focus more on the intimate world of two women living in harmony with nature. All of it bathed in stunning landscapes.
“Wax & Gold", dir. Ruth Beckermann
[A man wearing a navy blue jacket stands in front of a cage at the zoo, where a lion is rolling over on its back. Other cages and trees are visible in the background]
Ruth Beckermann settles into the legendary Hilton in Addis Ababa and begins speaking with people visiting and working in the place where, for decades, the fate of Africa and a world seeking its place in a bipolar reality was decided. The spirits of Haile Selassie, Ryszard Kapuściński, and legendary jazz musicians fill the space. Combined with fascinating archival materials and the refreshing tone of pure documentary filmmaking, attentively and with fascination observing the dense reality of a vast and, to us, still mysterious country—Ethiopia. And as a final treat, an absolutely captivating ending worthy of the masters of neorealism.
“The Oldest Person in the World", dir. Sam Green
[An elderly woman sits on a floral sofa, surrounded by old furniture, mementos, and black-and-white photographs]
Sam Green, a legend of MDAG, returns with a new film. Warm, tender, full of optimism and faith in the power of life—a portrait of the world’s oldest people. Sam travels with his camera to Japan, France, and Italy, not sparing himself or his loved ones—as fundamental changes unfold in his own life. I love films that span years, where protagonists change, stumble, love, search for meaning—and find it. A balm for aching hearts; I recommend it to everyone.
“The Librarians", dir. Kim A. Snyder
I love libraries, bookstores, and everything connected with books. In times of frenzied algorithms steering our emotions and seductive social media, I believe the book is more important than ever in human history. If the world is to be saved, the key lies in books. The protagonists of this film are people who have devoted their lives to protecting that key—and now they are put to the test. Censorship is on the rise in the United States; uncomfortable books are being removed from public libraries, as in today’s fascist Russia or in Nazi Germany. The film tells the story of women who decide to stand up to evil. Deeply moving and hopeful.
Ticket sales for screenings, accompanying events, and music events are ongoing.
Only a dozen or so days remain until the start of the 23rd edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity. The screening schedule for all seven festival cities is already available at mdag.pl, and ticket sales for individual screenings have begun. Tickets can be purchased online and at cinema box offices via the festival website.
SCREENING SCHEDULE
Tickets for accompanying events are also on sale. They are available at book.mdag.pl and at venues co-organizing the events.
The 23rd edition of MDAG will take place from May 8–17, 2026, in cinemas in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Bydgoszcz, and Łódź, and online from May 19 to June 1 at mdag.pl. The title sponsor of the event is Bank Millennium (https://www.bankmillennium.pl/).
