07/05/2025 - The professional shares how the platform is evolving into a vital hub, with a focus on immersive storytelling, cross-border collaboration and year-round support

(© Marcin Oliva Soto)

With the 22nd edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity set to run from 9–18 May, its industry platform, MDAG Industry, will take place from 8–12 May. The platform aims to connect Polish filmmakers with international festival representatives, distributors, producers, and sales agents. Just before the event began, we had the opportunity to speak with Anna Szczypińska, the head of MDAG Industry, about its growth strategy, its embracing of immersive storytelling, mentorship for CEE filmmakers, and their plans for long-term regional collaborations.

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Cineuropa: MDAG Industry has grown significantly since its launch. What were the key steps in turning it into such a vital hub for documentary professionals in just a few years?
Anna Szczypińska: We started small, in 2021, with a single curated event. We treated that as a pilot. And we expanded gradually and organically, slowly adding pitching forums for both feature-length and short documentaries, with films for young audiences. We invited Eastern European projects to submit for the pitching sessions, incorporated roundtable consultations, spotlighted new formats like XR, and each year brought in more and more decision-makers from key global institutions. The work of developing the Industry programme is still ongoing. It's not easy, as the market offers a vast number of industry events. We really have to make an effort and stand out to convince both the projects and the decision-makers to come. Perhaps our strongest asset is the atmosphere we create.

What was the reasoning behind this year’s focus on major industry trends like cross-border co-productions, and AI?
We’re closely watching how these trends - especially immersive formats - are shaping new ways of telling stories. We see this happening globally, and at MDAG, we want to make sure Polish audience and creators are part of that conversation.

You’ve introduced XR, AR, and VR projects into the lineup for the first time this year. What led to this expansion, and how do you see immersive formats fitting into the broader documentary ecosystem?
Bringing immersive formats into MDAG Industry felt like a natural next step. We’ve seen how XR, AR, and VR open up new narrative possibilities - especially for stories where emotional impact or presence is the key. One powerful example from our exhibition (MDAG Vision) is ROAMance, a VR experience designed for two people who meet in a digital world before confronting their mutual perceptions in physical space. Projects like this demonstrate how immersive media can deepen our understanding and empathy in ways that complement traditional documentary approaches.

Training and mentorship are central to MDAG Industry. How do you go about selecting mentors, and what kind of impact do you hope these sessions have on the creative teams participating?
We’re very intentional when selecting mentors. We choose highly experienced professionals - many of whom have supported the development of our festival over the years - such as Kim Christiansen (DR Sales). They do not only bring deep industry knowledge - one of the goals of our mentorship is to prepare participants for presenting their CEE projects to Western decision makers, that are clearly interested in this kind of content, but sometimes don’t understand it. When mentors help filmmakers shape their presentations to highlight global relevance, it increases their chances of finding the right partners and support.  It’s about creating a presentation suited for an international audience.

Looking ahead, what’s your long-term vision for MDAG Industry? Are there particular markets, partnerships, or new formats you’re especially eager to explore in the coming years?
Our long-term dream is for MDAG Industry to become a year-round hub for Polish, but also other Eastern European documentary creators. We want to offer ongoing support, not just during the festival, but throughout the entire creative process. One idea for the future we want to explore is an incubator-style programme that would nurture projects over a longer timeline. Also, the vision for MDAG Industry is to see more visible collaboration between festivals. For instance, Doc Alliance Markets is exploring this idea, and we are currently in the process of creating a platform that will promote projects from our markets. This will help further strengthen the connections between different events and ensure that our projects gain broader visibility and recognition.