Funding Provided By
2012 Twin Cities Polish FilmFest
The Twin Cities Polish Festival and The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul will present the Twin Cities Polish FilmFest, August 10th - 16th. It will run concurrently with the Twin Cities Polish Festival August 11th & 12th, 2012 as part of the Festival’s celebration of Polish culture and heritage.
The Polish Film Fest is a unique opportunity to see great Polish language films (with subtitles) from several genres including contemporary and classic feature films, documentaries, and short films.
Chopin Celebration concerts will showcase young Minnesota talent and local professionals performing the works of Chopin and other Polish composers. The concerts are sponsored by Wells Pianos and hosted by Kieran Wells. Concert-goers will have the pleasure of hearing these gifted performers display their artistry on a high performance piano provided by Wells Pianos. Performances will be held in the St. Anthony Main Theatre and are free of charge. Some of the featured pianists include: Reid Smith, William Yang, Anna-Keiserman and Denis Evstuhin. Saturday, August 11 at 3pm and Sunday, August 12 at 3pm.
Vodka Tasting in the theater lobby: Saturday, August 11 at 1:00, 3:30, 6:00 & Sunday, August 12 at 1:00, 3:30. Tickets for the tastings will be sold at the Polish Festival grounds.
General Admission: $8.50
Members: $5
Students/Seniors: $6
Irena Sendler: In the Name of Their Mothers
Showtimes:
Fri, Aug 10 at 7:30PM: Purchase Tickets
Sat, Aug 11 at 1:00PM: Purchase Tickets
Tue, Aug 14 at 7:30PM: Purchase Tickets
Director: Mary Skinner | Year: 2011 | Runtime: 60 min | digital
The true story of a group of young Polish women, some barely out of their teens, who outfoxed the Nazis during World War II to save the lives of thousands of Jewish children. For decades, Irena Sendler kept silent about her wartime work. Now, in the last long interviews she gave before she died at the age of 98, she reveals the truth about a daring conspiracy of women in occupied Poland. Irena Sendler was a 29-yearold social worker when the Nazis invaded Poland. When Warsaw’s Jews were imprisoned inside a ghetto without food and medicine, she and her friends smuggled in aid and began smuggling orphaned children out – hiding them in convents, orphanages and private homes.
The Officer's Wife
Showtimes:
Sat, Aug 11 at 5:00PM: Purchase Tickets
Sun, Aug 12 at 7:30PM: Purchase Tickets
Thu, Aug 16 at 7:30PM: Purchase Tickets
Director: Piotr Uzarowicz | Year: 2010 | Runtime: 77 min | digital
Upon the death of his father, a son makes a startling discovery. A forgotten safe deposit box reveals his grandmother’s memoirs, old photos of an army officer and a mysterious postcard that all link to a concealed crime: the Katyn Forest massacre. Weaving dramatic interviews with bold animation, The Officer’s Wife probes the collision of truth, justice and memory in a shrouded family tragedy. Before the start of World War II, Cecylia is happily married to a decorated Polish army officer and is an adoring mother of three young boys. As Nazi and Soviet tanks roll across Poland, her husband suddenly disappears and she is forcibly deported to a Siberian gulag. While imprisoned, she must battle the Soviets and the wild to keep her family alive. Risking a daring escape, Cecylia searches for her kidnapped husband - uncovering only betrayal, murder and a shocking Allied cover up.
Letters to Santa
Showtimes:
Sat, Aug 11 at 7:30PM: Purchase Tickets
Wed, Aug 15 at 7:30PM: Purchase Tickets
Director: Mitja Okorn | Year: 2011 | Runtime: 110 min | digital
Letters to Santa has drawn record audiences in Poland, attracting almost 400,000 viewers on its the opening weekend! Mikołaj works for a popular radio station. On Christmas Eve he gets an on-air phone call from Doris, frustrated and complaining about the lack of love in her life. To cheer her up, Mikolaj tells her a beautiful story. Little do they know that this phone call is going to change their lives. Shortly after that we meet Szczepan crying in his car while his wife is cheating on him in their bedroom. Then we see Wojciech, leading a life of luxury who chats to a little girl on a petrol station. In an entertaining plot their fortunes are interlocked. We follow the unfolding events with curiosity, laugh at the coincidences that happen and are touched by their outcomes. Deemed to be the most romantic Polish comedy of the year, it’s bound to keep your spirits high all the way to Christmas!
Harbour of Hope
Showtimes:
Sun, Aug 12 at 1:00PM: Purchase Tickets
Mon, Aug 13 at 7:30PM: Purchase Tickets
Director: Magnus Gertten | Year: 2012 | Runtime: 76 min | digital
In 1945, Irene, Ewa and Joe were among the nearly 30,000 survivors that were rescued from German concentration camps and sent to the peaceful harbor town of Malmö, Sweden. Here they started a new life. Through unique archival footage, we see the 10 year-old Jewish girl Irene taking her first shaky steps in freedom. We see newborn Ewa being carried off the boat by her Polish mother. And we meet Josef ”Joe” Rozenberg, who came to Malmö as a young boy after losing his family. Today Joe Rozenberg lives in Saint Louis Park. In Harbour of Hope, they tell their amazing stories from the moment of liberation to the unsolved mysteries of the present time. A film about the importance of a helping hand and an moving homage to the unsung heroism that occurred throughout the darkest chapter in Europe’s history.
The Fearless Vampire Killers
Showtimes:
Fri, Aug 10 at 9:30PM: Purchase Tickets
Sun, Aug 12 at 9:30PM: Purchase Tickets
Director: Roman Polanski | Year: 1967 | Runtime: 91 min | digital
Polanski's witty cult classic returns to the Polish FilmFest! Armed only with a case of crucifix stakes and a mallet, Professor Abronsius and his assistant, Alfred, arrive at a Transylvanian inn in the dead of winter to find and destroy the dreaded vampires who stalk the area. The villagers are reluctant to help, but the huge bunches of garlic hanging from every beam confirm the professor's suspicions that the town sports a resident vampire.
Shorts Program 1 - Best of Lodz Filmschool
Showtimes:
Sat, Aug 11 at 9:30PM: Purchase Tickets
Wed, Aug 15 at 9:30PM: Purchase Tickets
Director: Various | Year: 2010/11 | Runtime: 95 min | digital
1. Tomorrow I'll Be Gone | Dir. Julia Kolberger | 28 min. | Fiction
2. Without Snow | Dir. Magnus Von Horn | 35 min. | Fiction
3. Charcoal Burners | Dir. Piotr Zlotorowicz | 15 min. | Documentary
4. House of Death | Dir. Matej Bobrik | 17 min. | Fiction
Shorts Program 2 - Best of Lodz Filmschool
Showtimes:
Sun, Aug 12 at 5:00PM: Purchase Tickets
Thu, Aug 16 at 9:30PM: Purchase Tickets
Director: Various | Year: 2010/11 | Runtime: 86 min | digital
1. Pussycat | Dir. Ola Kankowaska | 15 min. | Fiction
2. Sing Me to Sleep | Dir. Magnus Arnesen | 29 min. | Fiction
3. Birthday | Dir. Jenifer Malmqvist | 18 min. | Fiction
4. Normal People | Dir. Piotr Zlotorowicz | 24 min. | Fiction
