Bank Millennium in the world of documentaries

On 13-22 May 2016 in Warszawa, Wrocław, Bydgoszcz, Gdynia and 20 other cities in Poland will host the 13th edition of the MILLENNIUM DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY documentary films festival (formerly known as Against Gravity Film Festival). This is the largest documentary films festival in Poland and the third most popular one in Europe, which in 2015 was visited by an audience of more than 40,000. At the same time it is the only festival in Europe which is taking place on a large scale in several cities at the same time (this year Warszawa, Wrocław and Bydgoszcz will be joined by the modern Gdynia Film Centre). This year the festival will be under a new name. The long-term sponsor of the event – Bank Millennium – has become the naming rights sponsor. - Bank Millennium has been culturally involved for the last 25 years. Since 2006 we have been a sponsor of the festival and the founder of the Bank Millennium Main Award. This is why after ten years of cooperation we decided to get real close and to act together under the single aegis of Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival to promote one of the biggest and most important documentary film festivals in Europe and a selection of the best documentary films from around the world. Becoming a naming rights sponsor is an honour for us but also an opportunity to contribute more to promoting film art in Poland – Joao Bras Jorge, Chairman of the Management Board of Bank Millennium said.

Artur Liebhart, the Director of the 13th Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival speaking about the new chapter in the festival’s history said: 10 years ago our festival was the first in Poland to introduce a competition for full-length documentary films (Bank Millennium Main Award). Today I have the pleasure of announcing that we are the first among film festivals in Poland to introduce a competition for films verging on the border between drama and documentary films, which will be called FICTION/NON FICTION. As in every edition over the span of the last ten years, in this case too the Sponsor of the festival is Bank Millennium. I am pleased that we are stepping-up our cooperation and that Bank Millennium is becoming the naming rights sponsor, thus ensuring further growth of our festival.

The festival has made documentary films trendy in Poland, evoking widespread interest on part of viewers and key opinion-leading media. This also confirms the high programming quality of the festival as well as its appeal. – From its earliest days the festival has been focusing its sights on top class documentaries and an in-depth discussion about the modern world – Artur Liebhart added. Proof of this are numerous debates after the films as well as the guests – eminent film authors including Werner Herzog, Michel Gondry, Ulrich Seidl, Sergei Loznitsa and James Marsh.

The Festival’s main award is the Bank Millennium Award. Moreover the films will also compete for victory in following competitions:

• Chopin’s nose – Competition for Best Film about Music and Art
• Canon Frame Without Fiction – Competition for best image author
• Amnesty International Award – Competition for Best Film about Human Rights
• Green Warsaw Award – Competition for Best Environmental Film
• Fiction / Non-Fiction Award – Best Film Competition
• Audience Award
• Award from Focus Monthly for the Biggest Personality of the Festival
• Study and Local Cinemas network Award
• Documentary Academy Award

Specially selected documentaries from around the world will be shown in following sections:

1. „ Not just the same” / psychology. „ Man in cinema” / human rights
2. „ Climate for change” / environment
3. „Muza and creative inspiration” / films about music and art
4. „People instead of numbers” / economy. „The city is ours” / urban culture
5. „ Fetish and Culture” / new phenomena in postmodernism
6. „Places” / not to be found in guides
7. „ On the border” / refugees and immigrants
8. „ I love cinema” / on making films
9. „The end of ZSRR” / 25th anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union
10. „ Heroes Among Us” / films about exceptional people.

More about 13th Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival on http://docsag.pl/