Polish Film and the Rise of Democracy at MoMI in New York

Museum of the Moving Image and the Polish Cultural Institute New York in collaboration with the Kino Polska Foundation and the Digital Film Repository present Ways to Freedom, a film series commemorating the 25th anniversary of the first partly-free parliamentary elections in Poland.

WAYS TO FREEDOM is a reference to Wojciech Marczewski’s movie Escape from the “Liberty” Cinema (Ucieczka z kina „Wolność”, 1990) and encompasses a series of film screenings, discussions, public lectures, and conversations with artists and activists, devoted to the democratic changes of 1989 in Poland.

These 13 film screenings (7 features and 6 shorts) will give context and background to an extremely tumultuous but fascinating period in Poland’s history. Viewers will have the unique chance to see classic dramatic features and documentaries by Poland’s most notable filmmakers : Blind Chance (Przypadek), dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1981; Interrogation (Przesłuchanie), dir. Ryszard Bugajski, 1982; From the Point of View of a Night Watchman (Z punktu widzenia nocnego portiera), dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1977; Smaller Sky (Mniejsze niebo), dir. Janusz Morgenstern, 1980; Escape from the “Liberty” Cinema (Ucieczka z kina „Wolność”), dir. Wojciech Marczewski, 1990; Man of Iron (Człowiek z żelaza), dir. Andrzej Wajda, 1981; The Mother of Kings (Matka Królów), dir. Janusz Zaorski, 1982; Rat-catcher (Szczurołap), dir. Andrzej Czarnecki, 1986; My Notes from the Underground (Moje zapiski z podziemia), dir. Jacek Petrycki, 2011; Hear My Scream (Usłyszcie mój krzyk), dir. Maciej Drygas, 1991; Where To (Dokąd), dir. Paweł Kędzierski, 1990; Fan (Fan), dir. Wojciech Maciejewski, 1987; Shivers (Dreszcze), dir. Wojciech Marczewski, 1981.

The films will be introduced by Annette Insdorf of Columbia University, acclaimed film critic and scholar of the films of Krzysztof Kieślowski; Michał Oleszczyk, a well-known Polish film critic and the newly-appointed director of the Gdynia Film Festival, Poland’s largest festival of feature films; Sheila Skaff, Administrative Director of the Masters of Art Program in the New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study in NYC; as well as Andrzej Krakowski, a film director and professor of Media Communication Arts at CUNY.

THE FILMS:

Descriptions of each film and bios of the guest speakers can be found on our website: www.polishculture-nyc.org

Ways to Freedom is presented by Museum of the Moving Image in collaboration with Kino Polska Foundation, Digital Film Respository and the Polish Cultural Institute New York.

WHAT:
Ways to Freedom

WHEN:
Thursday, November 13
7:00 Blind Chance followed by From a Night Porter's Point of View
Introduced by Annette Insdorf

Friday, November 14
7:00 Interrogation
Introduced by Sheila Skaff

Saturday, November 15
2:00 Smaller Sky
4:15 Escape from the “Liberty” Cinema
Introduced by Andrzej Krakowski

Sunday, November 16
3:30 Man of Iron
7:00 Mother of Kings
Introduced by Michał Oleszczyk

Saturday, November 22
2:00 Rat-catcher, followed by Fan and My Notes from the Underground
4:30 Hear My Scream followed by Where To

Sunday, November 23
2:00 Shivers

All films in Polish with English subtitles

WHERE:
Museum of the Moving Image
36-01 35th Ave
Astoria, NY 11106
tel. 718-777-6888

SUBWAY:
M/R to Steinway Street or Q/N to 36 Avenue (Astoria).

TICKETS:
Opening night tickets - $15 (available online)
General admission $12, seniors and students $9 - available at the box office on a day of the show; free with Museum admission.

MORE INFORMATION:
www.PolishCulture-NYC.org
www.movingimage.us

POLISH CULTURAL INSTITUTE NEW YORK, established in 2000, is a diplomatic mission to the United States serving under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.

The Institute’s mission is to build, nurture and promote cultural ties between the United States and Poland by presenting Polish culture to American audiences and by connecting Polish artists and scholars to American institutions, introducing them to their professional counterparts in the United States, and facilitating their participation in contemporary American culture.

The Institute has been producing and promoting a broad range of cultural events in theater, music, film, literature, the humanities, and visual arts. Among its American partners are such distinguished organizations as Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; Brooklyn Academy of Music; The Museum of Modern Art; The Jewish Museum; The PEN American Center; The Poetry Society of America; National Gallery of Art; Yale University; Columbia University; Princeton University; Harvard Film Archive; CUNY Graduate Center; Julliard School of Music; The New Museum; La MaMa E.T.C.; and many more. Our programs have included American presentations of works by such luminaries as filmmakers Roman Polanski, Andrzej Wajda and Jerzy Skolimowski; writers Czesław Miłosz , Adam Zagajewski and Wisława Szymborska; composers Krzysztof Penderecki, Witold Lutosławski and Mikołaj Górecki; theatre directors Krystian Lupa, Jerzy Grotowski, Tadeusz Kantor and Grzegorz Jarzyna; visual artists Krzysztof Wodiczko, Katarzyna Kozyra, Alina Szapocznikow; and many other important artists, writers, historians, scholars, musicians, and performers. www.PolishCulture-NYC.org

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (movingimage.us) advances the understanding, enjoyment, and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media. In its stunning facilities—acclaimed for both its accessibility and bold design—the Museum presents exhibitions; screenings of significant works; discussion programs featuring actors, directors, craftspeople, and business leaders; and education programs which serve more than 50,000 students each year. The Museum also houses a significant collection of moving-image artifacts.

Since 2008, within KinoRP project, DIGITAL FILM RESPOSITORY have participated in the digital remastering of over 140 Polish feature films, documentaries, and cartoons, supervising the process of their remastering, and then digital archiving, maintaining and distribution of digital copies of the remastered movies.We have collaborated with the Projekt KinoRP with, among others, Polish Film Institute, National Audiovisual Institute, Polish Filmmakers Association, film studios (Kadr, Tor, Zebra, Studio Filmów Rysunkowych, Studio Miniatur Filmowych), Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych and Wytwórnia Filmów Oświatowych. In the process of sound and image digital remastering we collaborate with such companies as Chimney, DI Factory, Fixafilm, Soundplace and WFDiF. http://www.repozytoriumfilmowe.pl/index/en

The mission of the KINO POLSKA FOUNDATION is to promote active participation in cultural, democratic, and civic awareness through the support and propagation of development of culture and cinematographic art. Through social, educational, and artistic projects the Foundation participates in the creation of social capital in big Polish cities and small towns, as well as abroad. http://www.fundacjakinopolska.pl/