The 18th edition of the Millennium Docs Against Gravity film festival starts on September 3rd. The programme of the festival includes a new section called FACES OF LATIN AMERICA. It features films from countries that are much discussed (Chile or Venezuela), as well as stories from less frequented corners of the world, such as Paraguay. What emerges from them is a picture of a sunny continent with a complicated past - and an equally complicated present.

In preparation for the festival we encourage you to watch the VOD.MDAG.PL films with which you can start your journey to Latin America. In our catalogue you will find two acclaimed feature films by renowned Latin American directors, an engaging and metaphorical portrait of post-colonial, "utopian" Cuba, and a story of a famous Polish traveler who for many years lived in Mexico. You can buy one-time access to the films for PLN 9.50 or buy a pass for several films!

MONOS, dir. Alejandro Landes

In a remote mountaintop setting somewhere in Latin America, a rebel group of teenage commandos bearing ​noms de guerre​ like Rambo, Smurf, Bigfoot, Wolf and Boom-Boom perform military training exercises while watching over a prisoner (Julianne Nicholson) and a conscripted milk cow for a shadowy force known only as ​The Organization​. After an ambush drives the squadron into the jungle, fracturing their intricate bond, the mission begins to collapse.

Embrace of the Serpent, dir. Ciro Guerra

At once blistering and poetic, the ravages of colonialism cast a dark shadow over the South American landscape in "Embrace of the Serpent," the third feature by Ciro Guerra. Filmed in stunning black-and-white, SERPENT centers on Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and the last survivor of his people, and the two scientists who, over the course of 40 years, build a friendship with him. The film was inspired by the real-life journals of two explorers (Theodor Koch-Grünberg and Richard Evans Schultes) who traveled through the Colombian Amazon during the last century in search of the sacred and difficult-to-find psychedelic Yakruna plant.

EPICENTRO, dir. Hubert Sauper

Waves crashing against a breakwater on the seashore, this dramatic image captures the spirit of a place that has endured decades of external pressure. On the streets of Havana, residents of all ages share their opinions about life in a colonized country, and the inner freedom they experience despite harsh sanctions. The descriptions of the waves of imperialism that shaped Cuba's history provide a deeper understanding of the impact of longstanding external oppression and the strong desire for independence that accompanied it. In 1898, after the US cruiser USS Maine exploded in Havana harbor, the country passed from Spanish to American domination. At the same time and place, a powerful tool of conquest was born: cinema as propaganda. The film explores a century of interventionism and myth-making. It also shows the extraordinary people of Havana - especially the children, whom it calls "young prophets." It also proves that Cuba is still partially frozen in time, delicately suspended between past and present.

TONY HALIK, dir. Marcin Borchardt

One could say that Tony Halik was an extraordinary explorer.  Or a dreamer, who made all his dreams come true. Or a liar. Or a spy.  All of the above is true. Let’s just say he was the best casting director ever. In this film you will see Richard Nixon, Evita Peron, Fidel Castro and Queen Elisabeth.  All filmed by Tony Halik - a Polish Indiana Jones of the 60s. A man who was so efficient in creating his image before the social media era, that now – over 60 years later we have difficulties in finding out what is true. This is a story about making your own legend and letting it be cultivated by others and about a great mystery hidden under a fabricated identity. An adventure documentary reconstructed from film archives, recorded by Halik during numerous journeys all around the world. This is a film about passion for travelling and chasing dreams, but also about the cost of its fulfillment. It is a film about the thin line between what is truth and false, inscribed in an extraordinary man’s fate, who created himself his place on Earth along this line.