15/05/2026 - Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić’s documentary led the winners of the 23rd edition of the Polish gathering, whilst Maciej Bochniak’s The Lawyer emerged as a key project at MDAG Industry

Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić’s To Hold a Mountain has emerged as the big winner of the 23rd edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity, taking home the Grand Prix – Bank Millennium Award during the festival’s awards ceremony, held on 14 May at Warsaw’s Dramatic Theatre.

The Main Competition jury, comprising Talal Derki, Lea Glob and Jessica Hargrave, praised the Serbian-Montenegrin title for taking audiences “into a magical world” through its intimate portrayal of family bonds, adolescence and humanity’s relationship with nature. The jury also highlighted the filmmakers’ “patience” in observing the lives of the protagonists, and crafting a nuanced story rooted in rural traditions and emotional resilience.

The Iranian documentary A Fox Under a Pink Moon by Mehrdad Oskouei and Soraya Akhlaghi proved to be one of the festival’s most celebrated titles, collecting the FIPRESCI Award, the Amnesty International Poland Award and the Compass Award presented by the Museum of Emigration in Gdynia. The feature also received a Special Mention in the Main Competition.

The FIPRESCI jury underlined the documentary’s ability to respond to urgent contemporary issues while maintaining a strong focus on individual dignity and survival. The critics further stressed that the film contributes to current debates around politics and cinema by turning documentary filmmaking into “a space for fostering empathy and recognising the need for change”.

Elsewhere in the Main Competition, Michał Marczak’s Closure won the Best Cinematography Award for its visual exploration of grief and nature, while Sara Dosa’s Time and Water received the newly introduced Best Editing Award.

Belgian filmmaker Pieter-Jan de Pue secured two local prizes with Mariinka, snagging both the Mayor of Gdynia Award and the City of Poznań Freedom Award. The jury for the latter described the movie as a story transcending “mainstream cinema”, moving from Ukraine and Russia to the United States while reflecting on the roots and consequences of violence and war.

In the Polish Competition, Maciej Cuske’s Candidates of Death earned the Best Polish Film Award, while Alisa Kovalenko and Marysia Nikitiuk’s Traces received both a Special Mention and the Smakjam Award for Best Production. Meanwhile, Marczak’s Closure continued its strong run by winning the Arthouse Cinema Association Award.

Among the sidebars, the Best Short Film Award went to Kiriko Mechanicus’s How to Catch a Butterfly?, and Mo Tan’s Confessions of a Mole received the First Appearance Award for the best debut.

Alongside the festival prizes, the fifth edition of MDAG Industry also handed out its awards after four pitching sessions, 50 project presentations and more than 350 one-to-one meetings. Anna Szczypińska, head of MDAG Industry, said this year’s projects brought forward “stories that are too rarely heard, yet have the power to shift perspectives and expand our shared experience”.

One of the standout industry projects was The Lawyer by Maciej Bochniak, produced by Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska and Kinga Tasarek for Madants. The project won both the CANAL+ Polska Award, the event’s €3,000 Grand Prize, and the Polish Filmmakers Association Award in the Progress Pitching Session. Bochniak’s project also secured the SoundMind Award for sound post-production services.

Other MDAG Industry winners included Łukasz Kowalski’s Children of the Black Garden, which received the Smakjam Award, and Dorota Roś’s The Diary of Experiences, selected for the Jacob Burns Film Center residency programme. Wiktoria Szymanska-Davis’s No Mother’s Land picked up the Visioni dal Mondo Award.

The 23rd edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity runs from 8-17 May across seven Polish cities before continuing online from 19 May-1 June.

Here is the full list of this year's winners:

Grand Prix – Bank Millennium Award
To Hold a Mountain – Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić (Serbia/Montenegro)

FIPRESCI Award
A Fox Under a Pink Moon – Mehrdad Oskouei, Soraya Akhlaghi (Iran/France/UK/USA/Denmark)

Best Cinematography Award
Closure – Michał Marczak (Poland)

Best Editing Award
Time and Water – Sara Dosa (USA/Iceland)

Mayor of Gdynia Award
Mariinka – Pieter-Jan de Pue (Belgium/Ukraine/Netherlands)

City of Poznań Freedom Award
Mariinka – Pieter-Jan de Pue

Bydgoszcz ART.DOC Award
Bugboy – Lucas Paleocrassas (Greece/Denmark)

Best Polish Film Award
Candidates of Death – Maciej Cuske (Poland)

Smakjam Award for Best Production
Traces – Alisa Kovalenko, Marysia Nikitiuk (Ukraine/Poland)

Arthouse Cinema Association Award
Closure – Michał Marczak

Best Short Film Award
How to Catch a Butterfly? – Kiriko Mechanicus (Netherlands)

First Appearance Award
Confessions of a Mole – Mo Tan (China/Poland)

Green Warsaw Award
Whispers in the Woods – Vincent Munier (France)

Chopin’s Nose Award
Crocodile – Pietra Brettkelly, The Critics (New Zealand/Nigeria)

Newsweek Psychologia Award
My Word Against Mine – Maasja Ooms (Netherlands)

Amnesty International Poland Award
A Fox Under a Pink Moon – Mehrdad Oskouei, Soraya Akhlaghi

ETNOMATOGRAF Award
Daughters of the Forest – Otilia Portillo Padua (Mexico)

All About Freedom Festival Award
The Librarians – Kim A Snyder (USA)

Compass Award
A Fox Under a Pink Moon – Mehrdad Oskouei, Soraya Akhlaghi

MDAG Industry awards

MDAG Industry – CANAL+ Polska Award
The Lawyer – Maciej Bochniak (Poland)
Producers: Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska, Kinga Tasarek (Madants)

MDAG Industry – Polish Filmmakers Association Award
The Lawyer – Maciej Bochniak

MDAG Industry – SoundMind Award
The Lawyer – Maciej Bochniak

MDAG Industry – Smakjam Award
Children of the Black Garden – Łukasz Kowalski (Poland)
Producers: Anna Mazerant, Łukasz Kowalski (4.30 Studio)

MDAG Industry – Jacob Burns Film Center Award
The Diary of Experiences – Dorota Roś (Poland)
Producer: Zofia Kujawska (Telemark)

MDAG Industry – Visioni dal Mondo Award
No Mother’s Land – Wiktoria Szymanska-Davis (Poland/UK)
Producers: Monika Braid (Braidmade Films), Wiktoria Davis, Sonja Henrici

MDAG Industry – Polish Filmmakers Association Award/Short Pitch Programme
Bell Boy – Akseli Leppänen (Finland)
Producer: Akseli Leppänen

MDAG Industry – East Doc Award
Bell Boy – Akseli Leppänen

MDAG Industry – DAE Award
Naples, Florida – Modesta Žemgulytė (Lithuania)
Producer: Akvilė Žilionytė-Khan (Artišokai)

MDAG Industry – Rising Producer Award
Kyiv Under My Wheels – Marina Baibarza (Ukraine)
Producer: Marina Baibarza (Process Films)