Dekonstrukt, a project directed by Mateusz Góra and Kamil Wilk, has won the Canal+ Poland Main Award, worth €3,000, at MDAG Industry. The film will follow the eponymous party collective, comprising three young, non-binary artists, and was presented along with nine other works in progress during the Progress Pitching Session, one of the key elements of MDAG Industry, which was held for the third time during the Polish-based Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival.

Canal+ Poland producer Katarzyna Kostecka said in a statement: “What's important to us is giving a voice to the younger generation. The materials presented captivate with their freshness, bright energy in approaching a difficult topic, and interesting and bold form. We hope this award will help with the shoot in the coming months and will serve as motivation for further action.”

Several more trophies were presented to the best Polish projects introduced during the Progress Pitching Session. The Polish Filmmakers Association picked Sugarland, directed by Julia Groszek; SMAKJAM singled out Baltic, helmed by Iga Lis; Soundmind offered its prize to Frontline, directed by Alisa Kovalenko; and the Pitch the Doc Prize was given to Candidates of Death, directed by Maciej Cuske.

The best projects presented in the Short Pitch Programme, organised by the Institute of Documentary Film, proved to be Worm Eaten by Maja Markowska (East Silver Caravan Award) and Hole by Danilo Stanimirovic (DAE Pitch Talent Encouragement Prize).

Additionally, the Andrzej Wajda Centre for Film Culture organised the fifth Documentary Film Forum for Young Audiences, and the awards within these pitching sessions were given to Becoming the Man by Martyna Nitkowska and Weronika Perłowska (Millenium Docs Against Gravity Special Mention and Polish Filmmakers Association Award for Best Project), Last Summer by Eleanora Iadkouskaya and Jan Jurczak (Millennium Docs Against Gravity Award for Best Project), and Sitting at Home by Katarzyna Piorek (LET'S DOC Award for Best Project).

Anna Szczypińska, head of MDAG, noted that during the four days over which MDAG Industry unspooled, there were four pitching sessions with 37 projects presented in total, as well as over 280 one-on-one meetings. “We want to build a bridge between the CEE region and the West, following the principle of ‘the more networking opportunities, the better’. Cooperation is important to us not only across the region, but also in the broader, non-European context. We are waiting for all of these films to be in circulation not only in different corners of Europe, but also in the United States or Canada, and other corners of the world,” said Szczypińska in a press release.

MDAG was organised in cooperation with Canal+ Poland and was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. The event’s partners were Audioteka, the Polish Filmmakers Association, SMAKJAM, Soundmind, the National Museum of Ethnography, the Polish Producers Alliance, the Institute of Documentary Film, the Andrzej Wajda Centre for Film Culture, Papaya Films, Pitch the Doc, the Filmmakers’ Trade Union and the Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Progress Pitching awards

CANAL+ Poland Main Award
Dekonstrukt - Mateusz Góra, Kamil Wilk (Poland)
Producers: Anna Kępińska, Piotr Śmiechowski (Telemark)

Polish Filmmakers Association Award
Sugarland – Julia Groszek (Poland)

SMAKJAM Award
Baltic – Iga Lis (Poland)
Producer: Justyna Gawełko (Silver Frame)

Soundmind Award
Frontline – Alisa Kovalenko (Poland/Denmark)
Producer: Kasia Kuczyńska (Haka Films)

Pitch the Doc Prize
Candidates of Death – Maciej Cuske (Poland)
Producers: Maciej Cuske, Ewa Hoffmann

Short Pitch Programme awards

Silver Eye Award
Worm Eaten – Maja Markowska (Poland)
Producers: Karolina Galuba, Małgorzata Małysa (Furia Film)

DAE Pitch Talent Encouragement Prize
Hole – Danilo Stanimirović (Serbia)
Producer: Nikola Spasić

Fifth Documentary Film Forum for Young Audiences

Millennium Docs Against Gravity Special Mention
Becoming That Man - Martyna Nitkowska, Weronika Perłowska (Poland)

Millennium Docs Against Gravity Award for Best Project
Last Summer - Eleanora Iadkouskaya, Jan Jurczak (Poland)

LET'S DOC Award for Best Project
Sitting at Home - Katarzyna Piorek (Poland)
Producer: Sergio C Ayala

Polish Filmmakers Association Award for Best Project
Becoming That Man - Martyna Nitkowska, Weronika Perłowska