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It was a record-breaking year for Millennium Docs Against Gravity! The 22nd edition of the festival attracted an impressive 181,542 attendees—the highest number in MDAG's history and more than 16,000 more than in 2024 (165,255 attendees).
This year marked a breakthrough for another reason as well—MDAG was included on the prestigious list of Oscar® qualifying festivals in the Best Feature Documentary category. This means that the winner of the Grand Prix – the Bank Millennium Award – Yintah, now has a chance at the most coveted film award in the world.
Behind this tremendous success stands the collective effort of the entire festival family: the protagonists of the films, the creators, the MDAG team working across seven cities, hundreds of volunteers, the organizers of the MDAG Weekend in dozens of towns, and countless partners and media patrons.
This year’s program once again surprised audiences – with new film sections, innovative events, a revolutionary overhaul of the MDAG Vision XR section, and a dynamic new edition of MDAG Industry, headed by Anna Szczypińska.
“A Whole World Between Us”
The festival was held in a hybrid format for the sixth time. The in-cinema portion ran from May 9–18 and attracted 108,427 attendees in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Łódź, and Bydgoszcz. The online part took place from May 20 to June 2. A total of 43,009 e-tickets were sold, but following international standards (a 1.7 multiplier), it's estimated that the online screenings were viewed by 73,115 people. The online component allowed the festival to reach those outside the festival cities and those who, for various reasons—such as disability—cannot attend in person. In total, 181,542 people took part in the 22nd edition of MDAG.
Yintah, winner of the Grand Prix – the Bank Millennium Award, also won the Online Audience Award, becoming the most-watched film of the digital program. Local awards were also presented in the festival cities: the Lower Silesia Grand Prix in Wrocław, the Mayor of Gdynia Award, the Freedom Award funded by the City of Poznań, the Silesian Voivodeship Audience Award in Katowice, and the Bydgoszcz Art/Doc Award.
Karol Piekarczyk, MDAG's Artistic Director, expressed his joy over the enthusiastic reception of the program:
“We’ve broken our attendance record once again. This success is proof of how incredible our audience is. This year we talked a lot about community, starting with the festival’s motto. And you could feel that sense of community everywhere—inside the cinema halls and during vibrant discussions in front of them. Many international guests commented on the MDAG audience—praising the attendance, passion for documentary cinema, and the smart questions and comments during Q&As. The community built by our viewers is a global phenomenon. As a festival team, we’re proud to be part of it.”
Bank Millennium has supported the festival for 20 years!
Artur Liebhart, Festival Director and Founder of MDAG, thanked the Titular Partner – Bank Millennium – for two decades of invaluable support:
“The 20-year patronage of Bank Millennium allowed us to grow and thrive, and the sustainability of our partnership is a testament to the high business standards upheld by the festival organizers. That in turn was crucial for other potential partners interested in collaborating with us. Our partnership is a textbook case study for other sponsors and cultural event organizers. The festival’s national popularity and its status as an Oscar® qualifying event is our shared success.”
Gratitude also goes to the audience, partner cinemas, media patrons, and volunteers. This year, volunteers received special recognition—two long-time volunteers, Zofia and Anna, were featured on the official festival poster. The festival was co-financed by the City of Warsaw, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Polish Film Institute, the EU’s Creative Europe MEDIA Programme, and supported by brands such as Visa and CANAL+ Polska.
Mateusz Góra, Programmer and Head of Communications & Audience Development, emphasized the power of teamwork behind MDAG’s success:
“During the 22nd edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity, we spoke a lot about community. We’re thrilled that the call from filmmakers for solidarity in uncertain times and for drawing strength from the stories shown on screen resonated so warmly with our audience. This record-breaking result is also a responsibility—one we’ll continue to meet in the coming years by bringing the best, most carefully curated artistic documentaries to Poland. I’d like to thank everyone involved in MDAG’s communications and promotion—our irreplaceable Head of PR Sara Wołczyńska, Anna Kawula from Kawula Studio for social media, and Julia Kosińska, who joined this year as Community Manager and Accessibility Coordinator. The festival’s visual identity, which received lots of praise again this year, was created for the third time by Bartek Bojarczuk of ill.cat studio.”
MDAG Industry – A Thriving Space for the Film Industry
This year’s MDAG Industry hosted 1,553 participants and 75 decision makers from around the world—a 29% increase in attendance compared to last year. We are consistently building MDAG Industry into a key event on the European film industry calendar. This is evident not just in the numbers, but also in the growing number of international collaborations, submitted projects, and industry guests, who increasingly reach out to us on their own initiative.
“Every year we introduce new elements, and every time we build something nearly from scratch. This time, new highlights included the MDAG Vision XR exhibition and the Xtended Pitch – a showcase of XR, AR, and VR projects at various production stages – along with events devoted to emerging technologies. Today, creators are exploring new forms of storytelling and pushing genre boundaries—we observe these trends and see how immersive formats are transforming narrative potential. That’s why we want the Polish industry and audiences to be part of this global conversation,” says Anna Szczypińska, Head of MDAG Industry.
Save the Date – The 23rd Edition of MDAG Is Coming!
The in-cinema portion of the 23rd Millennium Docs Against Gravity will take place from May 8–17, and the online segment will run from May 19 to June 1, 2026.
The festival is proudly sponsored by Bank Millennium (www.bankmillennium.pl).
