During the 52nd International Emmy Awards Gala, the Polish production achieved great success. The documentary film “Pianoforte” received a statuette in the “Arts Programming” category. The production was previously awarded the ORŁY 2024 film award for best documentary film, and has so far won many awards and prizes at festivals including: Millennium Docs Against Gravity and “Młodzi i Film”.

“Pianoforte” is an intimate portrait of young pianists taking part in the Chopin Competition, one of the most prestigious and oldest music competitions in the world. The camera shows behind the scenes what artists have to deal with as they face a unique opportunity of a lifetime.

Creators: Jakub Piątek – director, screenwriter, Maciej Kubicki – producer, Filip Drożdż – cinematographer, Ula Klimek, Piątek – editor, Anna Rok, Michał Fojcik, Joanna Popowicz – sound.

The series “Skin Hunters” has also enjoyed international success . Since its premiere, it has been the most watched documentary production on the Max service not only in Poland but also in Europe. The series is also popular on the American market.

“Skin Hunters” is the story of an arrangement between funeral home owners and emergency medical workers that probably claimed several hundred victims. The series’ creators return to the heroes of events that shocked public opinion over twenty years ago. They ask a question that is still relevant: why does a person become a murderer?

Creators: director – Aleksandra Potoczek, screenplay – Aleksandra Potoczek, Tomasz Patora, Tomasz Karpiński, cinematographer – Adam Palenta, editing – Maciej Pawliński, Natalia Jacheć, Piotr Ogiński, production manager – Mariusz Kaleta, executive producer – Marta Fujak, creative producer – Tomasz Karpiński.

What Polish documentary productions will appear on the platform in the near future?

Already at the beginning of January, the moving documentary “The Trees Are Silent” will have its premiere on the Max website. 

This is the story of Runa, a sixteen-year-old Kurdish girl who escapes with her family from Iraq from ISIS attacks, who, like many other refugees, ends up on the Polish-Belarusian border. She finally manages to reach Poland, but the price she pays for safety and asylum is enormous. Her mother, in advanced pregnancy, dies in hospital due to exhaustion and the conditions that prevailed in the border forest. Now Runa has to grow up at an accelerated pace – she becomes the head of the family to take care of her four younger brothers and a father who cannot cope with the growing difficulties.

In the first half of 2025 you will also be able to see the production “33 Photos from the Ghetto” .

The Max Original documentary series “33 photos from the ghetto” presents the backstage of an astonishing discovery. In December 2022, Maciej Grzywaczewski finds 33 old negatives of photos taken by his father. These are images documenting the events that took place inside the ghetto walls in April 1943. How is it possible that Maciej had no idea about the existence of these materials until now? The series is a record of events that allow us to reach the truth about a family history that has remained a secret until now. It is an emotional journey revealing unknown events in the lives of people who were so close to each other and, at the same time, the backstage of a sensational historical discovery.