The best short films from around the world will be presented, including the European Film Award winner for Best Short Film, "City of Poets", and the Sundance Short Film Grand Jury Prize winner, "The Baddest Speechwriter of All", which will have its European premiere at MDAG. This year’s Short Film Competition also features the Oscar®-nominated "Children No More: Were and Are Gone", as well as four exceptional Polish films. This diverse selection, both in terms of themes and form, includes 21 titles and will be presented in four competition blocks in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Katowice, and Łódź. The full lineup of one of the three most important competitions of Millennium Docs Against Gravity has now been revealed. All the films in the competition were directed by 11 women and 11 men.
The 23rd MDAG will take place from May 8 to May 17, 2026, in cinemas across seven cities (Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Łódź, and Bydgoszcz), and online from May 19 to June 1 at mdag.pl.
Still from the film "Rio Remains Beautiful", directed by Felipe Casanova.
[Musicians playing drums during a street parade in a crowd of people.]
This is already the fifth edition of the Short Film Competition, which invites reflection and summary. We feel that the approach we adopted from the very beginning - presenting films each year that are as diverse as possible in terms of themes, form, pacing, and storytelling - allows audiences to better understand the direction in which documentary cinema is evolving. This year’s competition features both films created in response to current events, such as the powerful "Children No More: Were and Are Gone" and "Hassan", which tell the stories of children in the Gaza Strip, as well as artistically refined explorations of our desires and ways of living - including "+10k", which premiered at Cannes, and "How to Catch a Butterfly?", which will have its world premiere at SXSW in Austin this March. As always, the selection also includes film essays, observational documentaries, and animation. Each block is a true journey around the world, offering both emotional experiences and new perspectives — Mateusz Góra, Director of the Short Film Competition
Still from the film "The Baddest Speechwriter of All", directed by Ben Proudfoot and Stephen Curry.
[Illustrated man talking on a green landline telephone.]
Four Polish films have been selected for the Short Film Competition. Two of them focus on twin sisters. In the beautiful animated documentary "I’m Painting a Self-Portrait, but All I See Is My Sister’s Face" (prod. Łódź Film School), Helena Stańczyk explores the life and work of the Wahl sisters. In "Twin Days" (prod. Studio Munka), directors and protagonists Nadia and Sara Szymańskie travel to a twins festival in Ohio. The two remaining films explore growing up in Poland from the perspective of characters who have come to the country from elsewhere. In "Dreaming in the Clouds", Mieszko Chomka follows two friends from Ukraine who break into a closed swimming pool to dream of returning to their homeland. Meanwhile, in "Mentor", Krzysztof Tomaszewski observes a young, taciturn boxer who remains a mystery to his training partners because he comes from a different cultural background. Both films were produced by the Łódź Film School.
Short Film Competition of the 23rd MDAG
Still from the film "Auto Queens", directed by Sraiyanti.
[Driver of a tuk-tuk riding down a street at night, viewed from the back seat.]
"+10k”, dir. Gala Hernández López (France, Spain)
Pol is 21 and lives with his grandmother. He dreams of living in Miami and generating 10k€ a month. He attends personal development events, follows online coaches and invests in cryptocurrencies.
"Air Horse One”, dir. Lasse Linder (Switzerland, Belgium)
Training, Take-Off, Grand Prix. Legacy is one of the most valuable horses in show jumping. In pursuit of victories, she is flown between competition venues across the globe. Air Horse One follows Legacy on her long journeys in the business class.
"Apocalypse Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, and the Day After Tomorrow", dir. Anastasiia Bonadyha (Czechia)
Bohdan - zwykły mieszkaniec ukraińskiego Nikopola. Jeden z wielu, którzy zostali w swojej ojczyźnie, nawet jeśli mogą zginąć każdego dnia. Jego marzycielska natura i głęboka wiara pozwalają mu znaleźć siłę wobec rozgrywającej się wokół apokalipsy.
Still from the film "+10k", directed by Gala Hernández López.
[Man wearing a cap and a purple jacket standing in front of modern skyscrapers.]
"Heads in the Clouds", dir. Mieszko Chomka (Poland)
Through the story of Bohdan, an ordinary man living in Nikopol, the director explores why some people choose to stay in their homeland even when every day might be their last. Bohdan’s quiet strength lies in his unwavering faith.
"Far From Beyrouth", dir. Mon Dewulf (Belgium)
A modern correspondence unfolds between Mon Dewulf in Brussels and his partner Karim in war-torn Beirut. Dewulf uses videos, voice memos, and text messages to craft an intimate portrait of their relationship.
"Children No More: “Were and Are Gone”, dir. Hilla Medalia (USA)
In Tel Aviv, activists gather weekly to demonstrate their opposition to the war in Gaza with a silent vigil for the children killed in Israeli attacks.
Still from the film "Hassan", directed by Mohammed Alshareef (Palestine, France, Qatar, Jordan).
[Man standing next to the ruins of a collapsed building.]
"Fruits of Despair", dir. Nima Nassaj (Iran)
While making a film about the Israel-Palestine conflict, an Iranian filmmaker is suddenly thrust into war himself when Israel attacks Iran. Over twelve tense days, what began as a political essay transforms into a personal diary of survival and exile.
"Hassan", dir. Mohammed Alshareef (Palestine, France, Quatar, Jordan)
A teenager breaks the siege of Gaza to save his family from starvation, facing arrest and the horrors of war, all the while dreaming of returning home and rebuilding his shattered life.
"How to Catch a Butterfly?", dir. Kiriko Mechanicus (Netherlands)
21-year-old Robert Aaron Long kills 8 Asian women in Atlanta as a way to suppress his uncontrollable sexual desire. Filmmaker Kiriko Mechanicus writes letters to the young murderer to find out, what our racial fetishes tell about hidden human desires?
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Still from the film "I’m Painting a Self-portrait, but All I See Is My Sister’s Face", directed by Helena Stańczyk.
[Black-and-white animation of two women sitting together on a couch.]
"Auto Queens", dir. Sraiyanti (India)
Mohana, the president of Tamil Nadu’s first women-led auto rickshaw union, grapples with the immense responsibility of building a dream that comes with a weight she is only beginning to understand.
"I’m Painting a Self-portrait, but All I See is My Sister’s Face", dir. Helena Stańczyk (Poland)
An animated short documentary about Alicja and Bożena Wahl, identical twin sisters and visual artists. The film explores sisterhood, shared creation and a bond that shaped their private and artistic lives.
"Amma, Do Giraffes Cry?", dir. Kartikeya Saxena (Czechia)
A whimsical filmmaker turns to his austerely rational mother, a zoologist, for help filming animals. Along the way, they meet a gorilla terrified of cameras, penguins haunted by their own shadows, and a sleepless anaconda.
Still from the film "Fruits of Despair", directed by Nima Nassaj.
[Black-and-white archival shot of two adults and a child walking down a street among destroyed buildings and rubble.]
"Mentor", dir. Krzysztof Tomaszewski (Poland)
Mentor is a mysterious boxer who trains in Warsaw. A group of people from his club try to guess who he really is, and their imagined versions of him eventually come face to face with reality.
"City of Poets", dir. Sara Rajaei (Netherlands)
Through a collage of personal archive footage, the history emerges of a small, metaphorical city where all the streets are named after poets. When war begins, new neighborhoods emerge to accommodate the refugees, and the existing street names are replaced by new ones.
"The Baddest Speechwriter of All", dir. Ben Proudfoot, Stephen Curry (USA)
Directed by NBA Champion Stephen Curry and Oscar®-winner Ben Proudfoot, film is rivetingly told by 95-year-old Clarence B. Jones - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s trusted lawyer and speechwriter.
Still from the film "Far From Beyrouth", directed by Mon Dewulf.
[Two people walking down an empty street in a grainy archival shot.]
"I Believe the Portrait Saved Me", dir. Alban Muja (Kosowo)
Twenty-five years after his abduction during the Kosovo War, painter Skender Muja recounts an extraordinary story of survival.
"Rio Remains Beautiful", dir. Felipe Casanova (Belgium, Switzerland, Brazil)
Within the revelry of Rio's Carnival, Ilma writes to her son. How does she sense his presence in the crowd? Suspended in time, the celebration becomes a space of memory and political resistance.
"I’m Not Sure", dir. Luisa Zürcher (Switzerland)
Insight into the filmmaker's stay in hospital, where she repeatedly experiences absurd, funny moments between pain, homesickness and disgust of her own body.
Still from the film "City of Poets", directed by Sara Rajaei.
[Four women and a child walking along a riverside promenade.]
"Twin Days", dir. Nadia Szymańska, Sara Szymańska (Poland)
Twin sisters drive cross-country to Ohio’s Twinsburg Festival - a journey that leads them to rediscover themselves beyond their shared identity.
"Our Walls", dir. Živa Divjak (Czechia)
An animated documentary that, through an intimate conversation between a daughter and a mother, searches for understaning and explores family bonds.
"Guided Tour", dir. Alba Jaramillo (France, Puerto Rico)
Night falls on the island of Zuania, once a military base, now a coveted tourist destination in the Caribbean. Turtle hatchlings head for the sea as a ferry packed with visitors arrives.
