The 21st edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity at DCF from the 10th of May!
Another edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity is coming! The Wrocław edition of the festival will last from the 10th to the 19th of May. At Lower Silesian Film Centre (Dolnośląskie Centrum Filmowe; DCF), we will present over seventy documentaries from all over the world. Unforgettable cinematic journeys will traditionally be accompanied by meetings with creators and protagonists and debates regarding important topics presented on the screen.
The slogan of this year’s edition of MDAG is “In relation to the world,” which is explained by the festival’s artistic director – Karol Piekarczyk: “The slogan refers directly to the topics addressed by the films featured in the festival program and is also a tribute to the remarkable work of the filmmakers who depict the world around us and the enchanting experience that is created in the cinema hall. This year, following the slogan, we focus on interpersonal relations and show our nature’s boundless complexity. On the one hand, it allows us to have friendship, love, and empathy. On the other hand, this is our kind that is responsible for destroying ourselves and the planet, which is not a home for just us.
Full festival program available on MDAG website.
Tickets can be purchased online at mdag.pl, the box offices, and the Lower Silesian Film Centre website.
DCF co-productions in the MDAG program
The Wrocław edition of the festival will open with “The Last Expedition,” directed by Eliza Kubarska. This is the true story of Wanda Rutkiewicz, the first woman in the world and from Poland to climb the highest peaks on Earth – told by herself. The co-producer of the film is the DCF. The film scenes were shot, among others, on ul. Dicksteina, where Wanda Rutkiewicz lived, at II High School she attended, and at Sokoliki – rocks, where she gained her first climbing experience. The film’s premiere is scheduled for May 10th at 7:00 PM. The director and the film’s protagonists will be in attendance.
The second premiere title co-produced by DCF is “Sowing The Seeds Of The Wild,” directed by Dyba Lach. The film follows musician Michał Zygmunt on a 1300 km journey in a traditional wooden boat to symbolically reclaim the wilderness for his beloved river. The 40-day journey offers a unique opportunity to observe nature’s ethereal realm through the perspective of a person who listens attentively. The lower Silesian premiere of the film, which was shot, among others, in Wrocław, Oława, or Ścinawa, will be accompanied by the conversation with the creators and protagonist.
New sections
Viewers can expect several new sections in the festival program that reflect current trends in documentary cinema. Japan Story section looks at various aspects of Far Eastern culture. The films collected in this section allow us to answer the following questions: In what aspects are we close to Japanese society, and where are our differences most evident? On the other hand, Unforgettable Female Stories portrays figures of outstanding women who had to fight for recognition of their merits in the face of patriarchal culture. Their achievements were often erased, and they waited a long time for the world to hear about them. The stories collected in the On A Path To Happiness section are about searching for balance in human lives.The path to fulfillment can be winding and bumpy. How do the protagonists of the festival films cope with it? This is a perfect opportunity to draw an important lesson from their surprising, often humorous, serious, and moving quests. The films from the First Nations section will answer the question of the current challenges faced by indigenous peoples from various parts of the world. As a part of this section, the festival will have the great pleasure of hosting the international premiere of the film “Sugarcane.”The creators of this film, in an extremely delicate manner, confront viewers with the decades-long pain of the indigenous people of Canada. The film’s directing duo Julia Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, who received a Directing Award in the American competition at Sundance, will come to Warsaw.
Winners of Sundance and Berlinale in the MDAG program.
During MDAG, titles that won the world’s most important festivals – Sundance and Berlinale – will have their Polish premieres. In the case of Sundance, there will be five award-winning films: the winner of the international Documentary competition – “A New Kind of Wilderness” by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen; the winner of the American documentary competition – “Porcelain War” by Brendan Bellomo and Slavy Leontyeva; the winner of the award for the best director in an international competition. – “Ibelin” by Benjamin Ree; the winner of the award for best director in the American competition – mentioned before „Sugarcane” by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie; the winner of the Special Jury Award for Cinematic Innovation – “Soundtrack to Coup d’Etàt” by Johan Grimonprez.
In the case of Berlinale, the winner of the Best Documentary Film title of the festival, “No Other Land” by Rachel Szor, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Billal, and Basel Adra, will come.In the darkest moment of his life, in the face of mass displacement, a Palestinian activist named Basel befriends Yuval, an Israeli journalist, who supports his protests.
Cooperation with the University of Wrocław
Among the employees of the University of Wrocław, the following individuals have accepted the invitation to co-create accompanying events:
– dr hab. Renata Tańczuk, professor at the UWr (Institute of Cultural Studies) – meeting “At the End of the Islands”,
– dr hab. Marcin Szydzisz, professor at the UWr (Institute of International and Security Studies) – lecture “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict – a never-ending story”,
– dr hab. Jarosław Jarząbek, professor at the UWr (Institute of International and Security Studies) – lecture “War without End, Peace without Tranquillity. Taliban Activities in Afghanistan”.
21. Millennium Docs Against Gravity will be a fascinating journey around the world and through many important topics – from ecology, politics, psychology, human rights, art (including avant-garde), and pop culture to family relationships.
The 21st edition of MDAG in Wrocław will take place on May 10-19, 2024, at Lower Silesian Film Centre, and the online part will take place from May 21 to June 3 on the day.pl platform. The patronage of the festival is Bank Millennium.
Translated by Wiktoria Kujawska (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
