04/05/2023 - The first edition of the event will feature twelve film projects which will be presented to a panel of international experts on 12 May in Warsaw

Forest by Lidia Duda

The Industry section of the 20^th edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity will launch a Progress Pitching Session featuring twelve documentary film projects. Organised by MDAG Industry, this inaugural session will see films presented to a panel of international pitching experts at the Atlantic cinema in Warsaw on 12 May. Frank Piasecki Poulsen will serve as the pitching session's moderator.

Anna Szczypińska, head of MDAG Industry, mentioned: “Although this is the first edition of the Progress Pitching Session at MDAG Industry, we received projects of a very high standard. With difficulty and care, we have selected 12 films, but we hope that those which will not appear at this pitching session will have a chance to be seen on cinema screens during the next editions of Millennium Docs Against Gravity. We would like to thank the Polish filmmakers for entrusting us with their projects and their willingness to present them in front of the industry professionals we have invited to the festival from all over the world. Our goal is to create an event that will make a real contribution to the development of documentary cinema in Poland and provide a space for filmmakers to establish contacts and promote Polish films abroad. We hope that the Progress Pitching Session will serve this purpose.”

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The selection includes ten Polish projects and two Ukrainian projects developed as part of the Young Europe programme, organised by the Foundation for Documentary Education, which were invited as guests to the pitching sessions. The films were directed by acclaimed filmmakers such as Lidia Duda, Piotr Bernaś, and Jasmina Wojcik, as well as debutant directors such as Julia Kuzka and Nadim Suleiman among others. The participants will compete for various awards, including the CANAL+ Poland Prize valued at €3,000 cash (CANAL+ being the main partner of the event), the SMAKJAM Award including colour correction service worth 15,000 PLN, the DAE Award consisting of bespoke mentoring and free membership for 12 months for the project's producer, and the SFP distinction, which includes a stay at the SFP House of Creative Work.

Here is the complete selection of this edition:

The Bear and the Piano - Piotr Bernaś, Cheng Herng Shinn
Producer: Piotr Bernaś (Velvet Studio)

Forest [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lidia Duda
film profile] - Lidia Duda
Producers: Michał Ostatkiewicz, Aleksandra Ostatkiewicz, Patryk Sielecki (Lumisenta Film Foundation)

Going B(l)ack - Joanna Ratajczak
Producer: Telemark

Go&See - Julia Kuzka
Producer: Małgorzata Małysa (Furia Film)

I Am One of Them - Nadim Suleiman
Producer: Adrianna Rędzia

King Matt The First - Jasmina Wojcik
Producers: Marta Dużbabel, Agnieszka Rostropowicz

The Life and Deaths of Max Linder - Edward Porembny
Producer: Edward Porembny

Songs of Sisterhood - Hanka Nobis
Producers: Esther van Messel

Step by Step - Eliza Kubarska, Michał Woroch
Producer: Monika Braid

Wajda - Liliana Komorowska, Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz
Producers: Daria Maślona, Stanisław Zaborowski

The two attending Ukrainian projects are: 

Metro - Pavel Dorohoi
Producer: Mirosław Dembiński (Foundation for Documentary Education)

Obrońcy Ruin - Mariia Shevchenko
Producers: Mirosław Dembiński, Ella Shtyka (Foundation for Documentary Education)