Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival Artistic Director on Program: ‘Our Priority Is and Has Always Been the Audience’
08.05.2024 - 21:45
/ variety.com
Murtada Elfadl The Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival, taking place in Warsaw from Friday until May 16, has grown exponentially in the last few years. In fact it is now, as the people behind it proclaim, “the largest cultural event in Poland.” Artistic director Karol Piekarczyk explains, “There is a culture of watching films and of watching films with subtitles in Poland. It’s quite unique.
There are a lot of arthouse cinemas, in comparison to the U.K. for example. Even in small cities.” Which is why the festival doesn’t play only in Warsaw but in six other cities around Poland.
Piekarczyk has worked for the festival for the past seven years and this edition will be his fourth as artistic director. He sees his job as “reminding everyone that our priority is and has always been the audience. However, we are a documentary festival, and whether we like it or not, audiences mainly choose films based on topic.
We as programmers focus more on the quality. But if the films we program were not of high artistic value as well, the audience would notice.” While MDAG does not chase world premieres, Piekarczyk claims that “premieres come to us anyway. For example, this year, we’re going to have the European premiere of ‘Porcelain War,’ and the international premiere of ‘Sugarcane.’ Both of which played at Sundance.” The festival has a reputation for treating filmmakers and guests well.
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