The second edition of the Polish Film Showcase. The event is organized and sponsored annualy by the Permanent Chair of Polish Culture at Canisius College.
Thursday, November 8th – Sunday, November 11th, Market Arcade Theater – 2nd Annual Polish Film Festival
Thursday, November 8,2007
7:30 p.m. Arka (Ark), 2007 short animation, dir. Grzegorz Jonkajtys
Synopsis: An unknown virus has destroyed almost the entire human population. Oblivious to the true nature of the disease, the only remaining survivors escape to the sea. In great ships, they set off in search of uninhabited land. So begins the exodus, led by one man ...
8:00 p.m. Bezmiar Sprawiedliwości (The immensity of (in)justice), 2007, dir. Wiesław Saniewski
Synopsis: Based on a crime committed in the 1990s: a television director was unjustly sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of his lover, a young Wrocław journalist. The affair sparked major controversy in Poland, as the investigation discovered no proof against the accused. Eleven years later the director was granted pardon by Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski. The real killer was never found.
10:00 p.m. Meet the Director, Wiesław Saniewski, for an informal talk after the projection.
Friday, November 9,2007
6:00 p.m. Gala Reception at the Bijou Grille, Club Level, 643 Main Street (next door to Market Arcade). To reserve your $18 per person ticket, send a request to Permanent Chair of Polish Culture at Canisius College, 2001 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14208, attn: Dr. Margaret Stefanski, call at 716 888-2835 (Department of Modern Languages Office), or e-mail Dr. Margaret Stefanski at stefansm@canisius.edu
Pick up your reserved tickets at The Bijou Grille, Club Level, 643 Main Street, Buffalo, (716) 847-1512(next door to Market Arcade).
Hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, desserts, Polish beer and wine, cash bar, music.
8:00 p.m. Plac Zbawiciela (Saviour Square), 2006, dir. Joanna-Kos Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze
Synopsis: A Polish working-class family is brought to its knees when the company constructing their new flat they have paid for in full goes bankrupt before delivering the goods. The would-be owners of the various flats in the future high-rise try to get together to work out some form of damage control, but most of these meetings end in pointless shouting matches, while the couple is forced to stay with Teresa, much to the chagrin of Beata, who, to put it mildly, does not really get along with her mother-in-law.
Saturday, November 10,2007
6:45 p.m. Dworzec Gdanski (Gdańsk Railway Station), 55”, 2006 documentary, dir. Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz
Synopsis: An attempt to confront with the painful events of the year 1968 - the outbreak of anti-Semic hysteria that resulted in many citizens of Jewish origin leaving Poland. For 20 years emigrants have been meeting in Israeli health resort of Ashkelon by the Mediterranean Sea. Thirty seven years have passed since they left, yet Poland is still present in their homes. Gdański Railway Stadion from which they departed, is now the symbol of their exile, the symbol of a turning point that splits their lives in two parts. Contemporary stories are intertwined with unique archive materials.
8:00 p.m. Persona non grata, 2005, dir. Krzysztof Zanussi
Synopsis: Zanussi has moved from the world of academia to the world of diplomacy, the central character Victor being the Polish ambassador to Uruguay, where much of the film is shot. He meets up with Oleg, a Russian diplomat who had sympathized with the solidarity movement in the 1980s. Victor suspects Oleg of having been a secret Soviet infiltrator, and also of having had an affair with his late wife; further complications ensue with a drug-trafficking scandal and with the arrival of a young consul with his beautiful Russian wife, whom Victor comes to suspect of feeding trade secrets to the Russian government.
Sunday, November 11,2007
2:30 p.m. Wojownik (The Warrior), 82”, 2007, dir. Jacek Blawut
Synopsis: A story of the extraordinary career and the tragic fall of a Polish kick-boxer Marek Piotrowski. In 1988, just a year before the fall of communism in Poland, Marek emigrated to USA with a dream to become a star of kick-boxing. He won the title of USA Champion and three times he became the World Champion. He lived in luxury. In 1996 his decline commenced: his father died, he got divorced, he learned that he’s not the father of a boy he believed to be his son, he fell ill, could not walk or speak. His career broken, Marek fell into financial problems and became a taxi-driver in Detroit. After a year he returned to live with his mother in a small town near Warsaw. Marek fought with depression for three years. Finally he got better. He established a small kick-boxing school for troubled youth in Minsk Mazowiecki. His old-time fan advised him to take on another job: Marek started organizing courses for big companies’ workers and teaching them motivation: how to be successful and how to cope with their failures.
4:00 p.m. Świadek koronny (Crown Witness), 2007, dir. Jarosław Sypniewski, Jacek Filipiak
Synopsis: The power of love in the world of crime. A gangster who for a beloved woman decides to serve as crown witness in a trial against his previous mafia fellows and an investigative journalist carrying a dark secret and solely seeking for justice meet for an interview...
Ticket Pricing
Single tickets: $7 General Admission; $5 students Package tickets (4 nights): $21 General Admission; $15 students Available at the Market Arcade Box Office 639 Main St., Buffalo, Parking Available
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