The world’s largest documentary film festival — IDFA in Amsterdam — has come to an end. Fresh from the podium of this prestigious event, the winning films are heading straight into the program of the 23rd Millennium Docs Against Gravity. Among them is the winner of the Award for Best Film in the International Competition — A Fox Under a Pink Moon by documentary master Mehrdad Oskouei, who served on the MDAG Main Competition jury in 2023.
The selection of IDFA titles having their Polish premieres at MDAG also includes Past Future Continuous (dir. Morteza Ahmadvand, Firouzeh Khosrovani); My Word Against Mine, the new film by MDAG audience favourite Maasja Ooms (Jason, Punks, Alicia); and Remake by acclaimed American filmmaker Ross McElwee. All of these films were awarded in Amsterdam.
IDFA 2025 Winner: A Fox Under a Pink Moon, dir. Mehrdad Oskouei
At just 16, Soraya — originally from Afghanistan — creates artwork that is both beautiful and dark. The film interweaves chilling scenes of her attempted escape from Iran with videos in which she sings and dances, only to reveal fresh bruises moments later. Forced into marriage with a violent man, she refuses to continue living in captivity and is determined to shape her own future. Soraya channels her fears, joys, and worries into her art, sculpting from soaked egg cartons or clay found during her escape attempts. Certain figures recur throughout her work: a loyal fox accompanying her on her journey, a pink moon watching over her, and a clown who never smiles — a character she deeply identifies with. Oskouei directed the entire film remotely, while Soraya captured all the footage on her phone over a period of five years.
Winner of the Envision Competition: Past Future Continuous, dir. Morteza Ahmadvand, Firouzeh Khosrovani
Maryam fled Iran decades ago and settled in the United States, while her parents remained in Tehran. Now, as they grow older and the political situation intensifies, she becomes increasingly concerned for their safety. She urges them to install security cameras in every room so she can maintain constant remote contact. She grows ever more dependent on this virtual connection, realizing how lonely they must have been all these years. What memories and reflections does she carry about her life spent away from her parents, her childhood in Tehran, and the reasons she can never return?
Best Dutch Film Award: My Word Against Mine, dir. Maasja Ooms
One in ten people hears voices. This film introduces five individuals living with this experience. One hears a single voice, another hears nineteen. Some voices want to protect — others want to kill. The film unfolds in a therapeutic setting where an off-camera psychiatrist speaks both with the patients about their voices and with the voices themselves. Who are they? Why do they appear? What do they want? We watch as this revolutionary approach helps the patients better understand their minds and accept what happens within them. Yet uncovering their stories is not the director’s main goal. Above all, she creates a captivating collective portrait — of the protagonists and their voices — revealing the extraordinary complexity of the human mind.
Beeld & Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award: Remake, dir. Ross McElwee
The death of his son forces director Ross McElwee — renowned for his intimate, autobiographical family portraits — to reflect deeply on his life. The film is composed largely of archival footage documenting Adrian: a bright, imaginative boy who eventually becomes a typically withdrawn teenager and later struggles with mental health issues and drug addiction. Material that originally served no particular purpose now feels like pieces of a puzzle — helping reveal not only who Adrian was, but who Ross is. The film touches on many themes but remains fundamentally simple: above all, it is a story about a father’s unconditional love for his child.
The 23rd MDAG will take place from 8 to 17 May 2026 in cinemas in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Bydgoszcz, and Łódź, and from 19 May to 1 June online at mdag.pl! The festival’s titular patron is Bank Millennium (https://www.bankmillennium.pl/).
