Millennium Docs Against Gravity about to start. Bank Millennium for the 20th time the Festival sponsor

Millennium Docs Against Gravity is the most important cultural project under the Bank's sponsorship. The Bank is also the sponsor of the Grand Prix award, for which the best films of the event compete. MDAG is currently one of the biggest film festivals in Poland and the second largest documentary film festival in Europe.

- We are pleased to invite you to the festival together with the organizers. There are many impressions ahead of us. MDAG plays an extremely important role in our difficult, dynamically changing world. Through an amazing selection of films, it presents a wide spectrum of contemporary phenomena. It touches on the most important and current topics and problems. It forces you to reflect deeply. It is a platform for discussion and exchange of ideas - comments Iwona Jarzębska, Director of the Public Relations Department of Bank Millennium. This year's edition will be exceptional. In 2024, MDAG was included in the list of festivals qualifying for the Oscar® in the Best Documentary Feature Film category. Thanks to this, for the first time in history, a film that wins the Grand Prix – the Bank Millennium Award, will have an open path to the most important awards in the world of film. - she adds.

During the 22nd edition of the festival, 12 films will compete for the Grand Prix - the Bank Millennium Award. - They are an illustration of what is best in documentary cinema (and in cinema in general), comments Karol Piekarczyk, artistic director of the festival. The competition list includes: "2000 metres to Andriivka", dir. Mstyslav Chernov; "Apocalypse in the Tropics", dir. Petra Costa; "A Want in Her", dir. Myrid Carten; "Baby Doe", dir. Jessica Earnshaw; "Come See Me in the Good Light", dir. Ryan White; "Coexistence, My Ass!", dir. Amber Fares; "My Stolen Planet", dir. Farahnaz Sharifi; "A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things", dir. Mark Cousins; "Mr. Nobody Against Putin", dir. David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin; "Trains", dir. Maciej Drygas; "Only on Earth", dir. Robin Petré and "Yintah", dir. Jennifer Wickham, Brenda Michell, Michael Toledano.

During Millennium Docs Against Gravity, Polish films are very popular, attracting crowds of fans of Polish filmmaking to cinemas. – For the sixth time, MDAG hosts the best Polish films – their competition is very popular, the premieres of Polish films are among the fastest sold out screenings in all festival cities. This year, the competition films stun with the variety of topics, artistic courage and production momentum," comments Wojciech Diduszko, director of the Polish MDAG competition. This year, 10 titles were qualified for it: "Trains", dir. Maciej Drygas, prod. Vita Zelakeviciute; "Trust Me", dir. Joanna Ratajczak, prod. Stanisław Zaborowski; "The Guest", dir. Zuza Solakiewicz, Zvika Gregory Portnoy, co-dir. Michał Bielawski, prod. Maria Krauss; "Kompleta", dir. Maga Hueckel, Tomasz Śliwiński, prod. Katarzyna Malinowska; "King Matt the First", dir. Jaśmina Wójcik, prod. Marta Dużbabel; "Letters from Wolf Street", dir. Arjun Talwar, prod. Karolina Śmigiel; "My Dear Théo", dir. Alisa Kovalenko, prod. Kasia Kuczyńska; "The Passenger Andrzej Munk", dir. Michał Bielawski, prod. Katarzyna Malinowska; "Bedrock", dir. Kinga Michalska prod. Ania Gawlita; "Das Deutsche Volk", dir. Marcin Wierzchowski.

Every year, an important part of the Millennium Docs Against Gravity programme are films on environmental issues, in the Climate for Change section. Ecology has been one of the most important and widely discussed topics since the beginning of the festival. Filmmakers from all over the world tell stories about the threats, but also about the solutions that appear in connection with climate change. During the 22nd edition of MDAG, 12 titles from around the world will compete for the Green Warsaw Award for the best film on environmental issues, telling the story of biodiversity, climate change, our relationship with animals and man's struggle with the consequences of his own destruction of the planet. These are: "Yintah" directed by Jennifer Wickham, Brenda Michell, Michael Toledano; "Dust to Dust" dir. Kosai Sekine, Nakazato; "The Grab", dir. Gabriela Cowperthwaite; "The Coriolis Effect", dir. Petr Lom, Corinne van Egeraat; "Only On Earth", dir. Robin Petré; "2073" directed by Asif Kapadia; "A Flower of Mine" directed by Paulo Cognetti; "Ellis Park", dir. Justine Kurzel; "Life and Other Problems", dir. Max Kestner; "Green Is The New Red", dir. Anne Ricalde Miranda; "Farming the Revolution", dir. Nishtha Jain; "Blame", dir. Christian Frei.

In addition to the best documentaries, meetings with outstanding filmmakers from around the world, MDAG also includes many accompanying events, such as MDAG VISION. The XR experience zone at the Millennium Docs Against Gravity festival takes us on a fascinating journey across the borderline of human consciousness and technology. Five unique works reveal to us different ways of expanding our own perception. This year's exhibition showcases a wide spectrum of immersive media and explores new art forms where technology becomes a tool in the hands of creators.

The 22nd MDAG will take place from 9 to 18 May 2025 in cinemas in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Bydgoszcz and Łódź, and from 20 May to 2 June online on www.mdag.pl. For more about the festival go to www.mdag.plthe link opens in a new tab.

The history of Bank Millennium is inextricably linked to culture. Right from the very start of its business activity i.e. from close to 40 years, the Bank has been engaged in providing access to and promoting culture in Poland. It supports national and local cultural events. It is a sponsor of culture 360°, it promotes art in almost all its forms, including: film, music, theatre, photography and painting, sculpture, literature and performance. It reaches for niche and popular culture; it is a long-term partner by design. Support in this area remains very important for the Bank.

For more about the Bank's sponsorship visit: www.bankmillennium.pl/en/about-the-bank/press-centre/patronage-of-the-culturethe link opens in a new tab.