Archive for the ‘Film’ Category

There are times at the Center when we sit around  thinking about what we can offer our guests. One of our recurring ideas is a film club. For those who weren’t raised in the later years of the PRL (Poland before the “Solidarity”), the initials „DKF” may not mean anything. To learn more about the Dyskusyjne Kluby Filmowe, or the Film Discussion Clubs, read the text below, from Józef Lorski, in Warsaw. (The text has been abbreviated.)

There was a time in Poland when there was a vibrant movement of film discussion clubs. The first clubs arose during the political strife of 1956. Soon thereafter, a nationwide federation of clubs formed, to represent the clubs to the state authorities, giving the clubs a certain status that removed them from the oversight of the local authorities. Every independent initiative in the PRL, not inspired or developed by the party, was in some way or other under the control of a party institution, or at least under suspicion. The clubs were forced to search for their own patrons among different groups, including schools, factories, offices, and cultural centers, and so such sponsorship was necessary. The repertoire – above all, the meetings and discussions after the movie showings – comprised an oasis of freedom in the world of the PRL. There were few other places where it was possible to be so open, to say what you were thinking publicly. Often the films simply became a pretext for conversations about people and everyday situations, about the rules governing social life.
(more…)

Those who like stimulating exchanges of ideas or just to make small talk in their native tonuge recently had a chance to discuss art in our discussion club. The club operates under the auspices of the Polish-American Cultural Center. When talking about art and beauty, everybody has his opinion but all agree about one thing: art is just a means of communication used by the artist to deliver his vision of reality to an audience. ”Good” art, in any form, lets the recipient feel the emotions of the artist. Empathize his mood and intentions. Since my college years, I was interested in the influence of art on human behavior. It was then that with pleasure, I agreed to a request by PACC that I prepare an introduction to discussion at the reception in the art gallery “Spaces” honoring the movie “My Nikifor”, shown during the 30th International Film Festival in Cleveland.
(more…)

Oscar recognized the Polish composer Jan A. P. Kaczmarek this year for his music to the film, „Finding Neverland”.

Jan A. P. Kaczmarek, who has lived for many years in Hollywood, has written the music for many important films. In his opinion, there appear only two or three really good films each year, among the hundreds of mediocrities.
„Finding Neverland” includes many of the elements of a first-rate film. It tells the emotional history of the life of the Scottish writer, James Barrie (1860-1939). Marc Foster, a well-known director with many Oscars already to his name, adopted this theme and engaged many of the greatest Hollywood stars in both leading and supporting roles. (more…)