Our documentaries will compete at the Millennium Docs Against Gravity!
For the first time in the history of the Warsaw Film School its short films will compete at the Millennium Docs Against Gravity – the largest Polish festival dedicated to documentaries. The Short Film Competition of the jubilee 20th edition of the festival includes the following productions: „Little Boy” directed by Sophie Horry and „Say 'Daddy'” directed by Andrii Shostak.
Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival is one of the world's most important documentary film events. The festival is a member of the Doc Alliance – a joint initiative of seven key European documentary film festivals. The jubilee 20th edition of the event will take place on May 12 - 21 in cinemas in eight Polish cities (Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Poznań, Katowice, Łódź, Bydgoszcz and Lublin) and from May 23 to June 4 online at mdag.pl.
16 short documentary stories from around the world qualified for this year's Short Film Competition. Five of them were produced in Poland, two of which were shot by the creators of the Warsaw Film School!
'Short films are as diverse and fascinating as the entire 20th MDAG program.' stress Mateusz Góra and Justyna Fogler, short film programmers of the festival. 'They all have one thing in common – they are a perfect example of cinema of the highest quality.'
Stills from the film „Little Boy”. Cinematographer: Mateusz Strzelecki, Sophie Horry
Among the competition proposals there is our „Little Boy” – a touching film created by Sophie Horry. The young director reveals the intimacy of her own family in a naturalistic way, showing the severe and rare disease of her brother, Pierre.
Stills from the film „Say 'Daddy'”. Cinematographer: Andrii Shostak
Our second film qualified for the festival is the documentary „Say 'Daddy'” by Andrii Shostak. The director focuses on the eight-month-old Lew, who escaped to Poland from war-torn Ukraine with his mother. Daily calls from his father, who had to stay in their homeland, become the boy's most important ritual.
The partner of the Short Film Competition, and at the same time the founder of the prize for the winning project, is TikTok.
But that's not the end! We also have a film in the festival's new non-competitive section – „We're Here, We're Queer”. We will see the documentary „A Few Things I'd Like To Tell You” directed by Mateusz Góra and Kamil Wilk. The protagonists – and at the same time the creators of the film – are talking about their identity and about their methods of dealing with their otherness for many years. This conversation becomes the beginning of a crazy journey into unexplored areas for them.
Huge congratulations to the crews of our qualified films! Your participation in such a large event as Millennium Docs Against Gravity is a great distinction itself.
Below you will find the loglines and the list of the short's film crews.
LITTLE BOY
Still from the film „Little Boy”. Cinematographers: Mateusz Strzelecki, Sophie Horry
Sophie Horry declutters the intimacy of her family, whose life is now centered around the sickness of Pierre, Sophie's older sibling. While documenting her family's daily life and her brother's sickness, the young woman deals with her own emotions.
PROTAGONISTS: Sophie Horry, Pierre Horry, Valerie Horry, Herve Horry
DIRECTOR: Sophie Horry DOP: Mateusz Strzelecki, Sophie Horry EDITING: Sophie Horry SOUND: Blanka Bijak MUSIC: Szymon Kusior ARTISTIC SUPERVISION: Aleksander Pietrzak, Andrzej Ramlau PRODUCER: Maciej Ślesicki PRODUCTION: Warsaw Film School
SAY „DADDY”
Still from the film „Say 'Daddy'”. Cinematographer: Andrii Shostak
Eight-month-old Lew lives in Poland, where he and his mother fled from war-torn Ukraine. His dad can't hug him or even watch how he's taking his first steps.
PROTAGONISTS: Jura, Lew, Anastazija
DIRECTOR & DOP: Andrii Shostak EDITING: Jakub Broda SOUND: Zachary Połubiński ARTISTIC SUPERVISION: Barbara Pawłowska PRODUCER: Maciej Ślesicki PRODUCTION: Warsaw Film School
A FEW THINGS I'D LIKE TO TELL YOU
Still from the film „A Few Things I'd Like To Tell You”. Cinematographer: Szymon Głowacki
Being ashamed of your identity in Poland has its consequences on many LGBTQ+ people in the country. Kamil and Mateusz have an honest conversation about their identity which unexpectedly becomes a reason to explore a completely different world. “A few things I’d like to tell you” is an intimate image of two men's relationship where they both support each other. Will this change backed by a professional performer help them escape their problems?
PROTAGONISTS: Mateusz Góra, Kamil Wilk, Jakub Mosor / Savannah Crystal
DIRECTING & EDITING: Mateusz Góra, Kamil Wilk DOP: Szymon Głowacki SOUND: Katarzyna Kolecka, Lilia Lalek, Małgorzata Mendrek PRODUCTION MANAGER: Agata Jancewicz ARTISTIC SUPERVISION: Barbara Fronc PRODUCER: Maciej Ślesicki PRODUCTION: Warsaw Film School
Films by students of the Warsaw Film School are co-financed by the Polish Film Institute