In Relationship With the World. 21st Millennium Docs Against Gravity
The 21st edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity, Poland's biggest film festival, will take place from 10 to 19 May in cinemas in seven Polish cities (Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Łódź, and Bydgoszcz) and from 21 May to 3 June online at mdag.pl! As always, the unforgettable film journeys will be accompanied by meetings with the filmmakers and protagonists as well as debates on topics presented on screen.
The slogan of this year's MDAG is “In Relationship With the World”, and this is how the festival's artistic director, Karol Piekarczyk, explains its meaning: "The slogan refers directly to the topics addressed by the films presented in the festival programme. It is also a tribute to the extraordinary work of the filmmakers who show us the reality that surrounds us and the magical bond created in the cinema hall. Following the slogan, this year, we are focusing on human relationships and showing the boundless complexity of our nature. On the one hand, it enables us to develop friendship, love, and empathy. On the other hand, our species is responsible for the destruction of itself and the planet, which is not only our home."
Mother Vera
UK, 2024, 95 min
Directed by: Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson
Cinematography by: Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson
”Mother Vera” is the story of a young nun; her turbulent past, and fragile future. At the monastery farm, people live in rehabilitation. They are a mirror to Vera’s old life. Faced with a hard decision, Vera must confront her past to find the freedom.
Screenings of the film "Mother Vera" during the Warsaw edition of the 21st MDAG:
11.05: Kinoteka, room 7, 20:30 - screening with a meeting with the directors
12.05: Kinoteka, room 7, 15:30 - screening with a meeting with the directors
14.05: Kino Muranów, room Gerard, 20:30
17.05: Kino Atlantic, room B, 18:45
18.05: Kinoteka, room 3, 21:00
19.05: Kinoteka, room 4, 16:00
Copa 71
Wlk. Brytania / UK, 2023, 90 min
Directed by: James Erskine, Rachel Ramsey
Cinematography by: Angela Zoe Neil
In the summer of 1971, the world’s best women’s soccer teams competed in Mexico. Copa 71 still ranks as the best attended women’s sporting event of all time. So why do we never hear about it? ”Copa 71” tells the incredible story of the tournament that was written out of sporting history.
Alys Tomlinson photography exhibition: Ex-Voto
May 10-19, Gagarin Hall, Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw
"Ex-Voto" is the culmination of Alys Tomlinson's five-year work on a project related to catholic sacred places. Black and white photographs from Ireland, France and Poland intertwine landscapes of worship spaces with portraits of pilgrims and pilgrimages met during the journey. Their raw aesthetics create an atmosphere of peace, spirituality and contemplation. The project's title, "Ex-Voto," refers to the physical gifts that believers leave as a token of gratitude or intention at their pilgrimage sites.
"Ex-Voto" shows the essence of time in an extremely multi-layered way. In the photographs, the past is combined with the present, the signs left by pilgrims are continued by subsequent generations, creating a linear continuity - the present becomes the past and, at the same time, potentially, eternity. Alys Tomlinson won the 2018 Sony Photographer of the Year award for "Ex-Voto".