The poster of the 20th edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity features Alisa Kovalenko, the director of the film "We Will Not Fade Away" as she’s looking at the audience. The author of this year's visual identification of the festival is Bartek Bojarczuk, creative director of the ILLCAT.studio. The poster photo of Alisa was taken by the outstanding Polish photographer Weronika Ławniczak. On Thursday, 2nd of March, at 12:00, the sale of passes as well as submissions for accreditation for the Warsaw edition of the festival began!

Alisa Kovalenko, who was awarded with a triple standing ovation at the world premiere of her film at this year’s Berlinale, together with the young heroes of "We Will Not Fade Away" brings hope in dark times. The film observes, with extraordinary tenderness, a group of teenagers entering adulthood  in Donbass, 2019, while the threat of another war is in the air. Thanks to their incredible energy and enthusiasm, the heroes remain hopeful, which allows them to fully experience the last golden hours of childhood. Alisa Kovalenko follows their pack of young, creative minds  - some of them paint, some take photos, and still others dream of an acting career or becoming the next Elon Musk. They manage to keep their dreams alive, even though the world around them is on fire. They rebel and go on adventures. Sometimes they bravely venture into minefields or simply soak up the sun by a nearby lake. They dream of escaping not only from the war, but also - like their peers around the world - from the boredom of a small town. Unexpectedly, an opportunity arises to set off on a long journey to Nepal. In the face of the events of 2022, "We Will Not Fade Away" gains new, special meaning and lets us believe that after Ukraine's victory, thanks to the enthusiasm of people like the heroes of Alisa’s film, their homeland will be able to fully bloom again.

The presence of a female director on this year's poster, especially with the photo shot by Weronika Ławniczak, most known for portraits of creative women, is particularly significant for the MDAG festival. With great joy, the festival announces that this year it will once again maintain gender parity - all the films presented in the program have been directed equally by women and men. This is particularly important during the 20th, anniversary edition of the festival, as on the one hand it bears witness to the long-term efforts of the programming committee in this regard, yet on the other it reflects the reality of modern documentary cinema, where inequalities between male and female artists are not as deep and stark as in narrative cinema.

The author of this year's MDAG visual identification is for the first time Bartek Bojarczuk - creative director of the ILLCAT.studio. He specializes mainly in graphic design, typography, branding and poster art. His career includes  both large global brands as well as smaller clients from Poland. When it comes to his illustration portfolio, it includes a variety of works: from press illustrations, through murals and clothing designs. A designer for unusual tasks that require a special approach. Winner of many awards and distinctions, e.g. The KTR Golden Sword, Good Design, Must Have, 3x3 Annual and Polish Graphic Design Awards. The festival team welcomes Bartek to the team, very much looking forward to this collaboration, which begins with the creation of a wonderful poster, bringing hope and perfectly expressing the slogan "Against Gravity".

Passes and accreditations

Below you will find the info on how to purchase a pass and press/industry accreditations for the Warsaw edition of the festival.

 

Passes

Festival passes cost 250 PLN and are sold via the festival website mdag.pl and via eventim.pl/20mdag (where you should select the "Passes" tab).

Link to the sale of passes: BUY A PASS

The sale of passes will conclude on 24th of April, 2023 or until the pool is exhausted.

You can buy a pass for yourself or for other people (up to 4 passes) by entering the correct names and surnames of pass holders when ordering. All passes will be sent to the e-mail address of the person making the purchase.

 

Accreditations

The number of press and industry accreditations is limited. Persons who receive a positive accreditation decision are asked to pay for the accreditation in the amount of 170 PLN by 23rd of April, 2023 at the latest, using the payment form to which they will receive a link in an e-mail confirming that their application has been approved. Please remember to keep this deadline. In order to pay for the accreditation, you need to use the purchase code for the activation, which can be found in the registration confirmation e-mail or on your Eventim.pl account.

Link to the application form for accreditation: ACCREDITATION FORM

The accreditation form should be submitted no later than 17th of April, 2023.

We will inform you about the decision to grant accreditation by sending information to the e-mail address provided in the application, no later than 18th of April, 2023.

All persons who have purchased or received Passes and Accreditations are required to send their portrait photo to the e-mail address: ewelina@againstgravity.pl by 23rd of April, 2023 (title: "Pass/Accreditation + name and surname).

 

The anniversary 20th edition of MDAG will take place on May 12-21, 2023 in cinemas across eight Polish cities - Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Łódź, Bydgoszcz and Lublin as well as online - from May 23 to June 4 on the mdag.pl. The principal patron of the festival is Bank Millennium (www.bankmillennium.pl)