POLISH FILM CLUB 'OKO'

ATTENTION, CHANGE OF PLANS :  Due to the November celebrations of 100th anniversary of the Polish Home in Seattle as well as the 100th anniversary of Polish independence, a film 'The Last Stage (Polish: Ostatni etap) is now rescheduled for January 2019. Instead, we will re-screen shown at SPFF 2018 three recent documentaries about Polish Community in Seattle: •  Passing the Torch: 100 Years of the Polish Home Association This movie has been produced by the PHA historical video and oral history project in 2017 & 2018. Based on dozens of interviews and a wealth of historical materials it shows the rich history of the Polish community through different eras and the role PHA and the Polish Home played as the anchor of Polish life in Seattle and the Washington state. It shows achievements and initiatives that transformed the Polish Home from an ethnic fraternity into a vibrant cultural center presenting Polish culture and traditions. Trailer of 'Passing the Torch':

About next few OKO sessions: • SEPTEMBER : I'm having trouble to secure a Polish full feature film with English subtitles, so we will screen two very interesting short films, but... You can bring your own film and if the audience decides to see it, we will do so.  You can also communicate ahead of time via comment section below or via blog's  email (mailaleksblog at gmail.com - change 'at' to '@' and make it one word) if you have questions or title of film you want to bring...  In case nobody brings an alternative film we will see: 1.)   Maestro: Andres Bukowinski, his life and films , 2001, directed by Andrzej Bart (the author of the script for the film Rewers /Reverse) -  27 minutes documetary.  Born in Poland in 1940, Andres Bukowinski began his advertising career in Argentina, won numerous international awards for his commercials,  later moved to Brazil, and began reacquainting himself with Poland in the 90s. He made about 3000 ads and is often called t

Film host:  Tatyana Tsyrlina-Spady , PhD,  Adjunct Professor at the School of Education, Seattle Pacific University. Tatyana is a member of many international organizations including the Association for  Moral Education; Comparative International Education Society; Janusz  Korczak Association of the United States, and formerly, Korczak Association of Russia.   Thank you Tatyana!  KORCZAK   •    Unrated | 1h 58min | Biography, Drama | 6 May 1990 (Poland) Director: Andrzej Wajda, Writer: Agnieszka Holland.  Stars: Wojciech Pszoniak, Ewa Dalkowska, Teresa Budzisz-Krzyzanowska  In Polish with English subtitles, at Polish Home upstairs, Friday, June 15, 7:30 pm The film is an account of the last days of life of the legendary Polish pedagogue Janusz Korczak and his heroic dedication to protecting Jewish orphans during the war. Jewish doctor Henryk Goldszmit, known also as Janusz Korczak, is a man of high principles. He is unafraid of shouting at German officers and freq

Solaris is a 2002 American science fiction drama film written and directed by Steven Soderbergh, produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau, and starring George Clooney and Natascha McElhone. It is based on the 1961 science fiction novel of the same name by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. About Stanislaw Lem here .... From wikipedia :  While admitting that he had not seen the film, Lem referred to Soderbergh's adaptation as a "remake of the Tarkovsky movie" and criticized what he had heard as departing far from his original intentions by focusing almost exclusively on the psychological relationship between the two main characters, while reducing the vast and alien ocean to a mere "mirror" of humanity: “...to my best knowledge, the book was not dedicated to erotic problems of people in outer space... As Solaris' author I shall allow myself to repeat that I only wanted to create a vision of a human encounter with something that ce

Passenger (Polish: Pasażerka)  is a 1963 Polish feature film directed by Andrzej Munk. Munk died in a car crash during screening. The unfinished film was assembled for release by directors Witold Lesiewicz and Andrzej Brzozowski.  The film (1h 2 min) is in Polish, with English subtitles,  at Polish Home upstairs, Friday, March 16, 7:30 pm. The last film of Andrzej Munk, who died in a crash during the filming. A German woman  (played by Aleksandra Śląska) on a ship coming back to Europe notices a face of another woman which brings recollections from the past. She tells her husband that she has been an overseer in Auschwitz during the war, but she has actually saved a woman's life. Her vision is shown and then the actual events. Written by Polish Cinema Database The source was a radio drama Passenger from Cabin Number 45, written in 1959 by a survivor of Auschwitz and Ravensbrück concentration camps, Zofia Posmysz -Piasecka. Posmysz's play was later reworked into

This will be the last film introduced by our UW Polish Studies Fulbright scholar,  Justyna Budzik, PhD, before she leaves her post.  Thank you, Justyna! Rezerwat /The reservation, Poland 2007,  Director: Lukasz Palkowski. Writers: Marcin Kwasny, Lukasz Palkowski. The film (1h 40min) is in Polish, with English subtitles,  at Polish Home upstairs, Friday, March 16, 7:30 pm. A young photographer moves to Praga, the most notorious district of Warsaw, known for common crime and alcoholism as well as unique folklore. This experience will have much impact on both his personal and professional life. At the Polish Film Festival, the director, editor, and supporting actress (Sonia Bohosiewicz) all won in their respective categories; additionally, Palkowski won the Critics' Award. IMDB review by Chris Lawson :  This film was shown in Romania as part of the European Film Festival week. This story of everyday life in Praga, a near-slum district in Warsaw, is true, honest and very powe

We are very lucky to have another film introduced by our UW Polish Studies Fulbright scholar,   Justyna Budzik, PhD . She will bring us a  story that [...] is not a love story though it is full of love. It is not a comedy though the characters often say funny things. It is not a detective story even though the hero is trying to solve a murder. It is not a nature drama though it shows the splendid colours and customs of the countryside. It is not a musical though Lubica expresses her longing in a passionate dance. Nor is it a film about ghosts though a ghost does ask the hero for a favour. A few draughts of Strawberry Wine are enough to take us into a magical world in the true centre of Europe, where love, crime and penitence are just as much a part of life as the changing of the seasons, the migration of birds or the flowing of a mountain stream.[...] - —Anonymous at IMDb Wino truskawkowe / Strawberry Wine , Poland/Slovakia. Director: Dariusz Jabłoński, screenplay: Andrzej Stasi

Film host: our UW Polish Studies Fulbright scholar,  Justyna Budzik , PhD, with a story of J.M. Barrie 's friendship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan, with music by  Jan A.P. Kaczmarek (Jan won his first Oscar for Best Original Score on Marc Forster's highly acclaimed film, "Finding Neverland."). The film is in English,  at Polish Home upstairs, Friday, January 19, 7:30 pm. Finding Neverland :  In this drama, we are told the story of how J.M. Barrie came up with the play Peter Pan. After some failed attempts at creating a well written play, Barrie finds himself in a park playing with his dog. Several moments later he will come to meet the inspiration for his next play, four small boys and a widowed mother, who seems to be growing weaker by the day. Soon, the whole town is talking about Barrie and the Davies family, which causes some rough waters in his marriage. But what comes from his experiences is the play that comes to be known as Peter Pa