Extraordinary event – THE GREAT WAY at the 34th Polish Film Festival in America!
Saturday, November 5 – Sunday, November 20, 2022
The 34th edition of Polish Film Festival in America (PFFA), the world’s most extensive showcase of Polish film and the largest annual Polish cultural event outside of Poland, will take place from Saturday, November 5 to Sunday, November 20, 2022 in four prominent venues in the Chicagoland.
A premiere presentation of THE GREAT WAY (1946) directed by Michal Waszynski, the first post-war Polish feature film, spectacularly digitally remastered by the National Film Archives – Audiovisual Institute (FINA) will take place on Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 3:00 PM. in AMC Village Crossing 18 (7000 N. Carpenter Ave. by Central Ave., Skokie). FINA President Robert Kaczmarek and film critic and historian Mateusz Werner are coming from Poland to participate in a discussion following the movie, to be moderated by Prof. Chris Swider.
THE GREAT WAY, for many years forgotten and prohibited, and not „The Forbidden Songs” as the communist propaganda wanted people to believe, is the first Polish post-war feature film; however, the shooting took place in Italy (studio shots in a famous Cinecitta studios), made by a film crew of General Anders’ II Corps. The movie contains abundance of incredible documentary footage, realized during whole march of the army: from its founding by many Gulag prisoners in the Soviet Union to odyssey through Asia and Africa to the Battle of Monte Cassino and liberation of Bologna. The best film artists of the prewar Poland, found in the II Corps’ ranks, were hired: Michal Waszynski, acclaimed director of „Dybbuk” and nearly 40 other hits, actresses Jadwiga Andrzejewska and Renata Bogdanska (later Irena Anders, wife of the General), cinematographer Seweryn Steinwurzel. Script was written by Konrad Tom and Stanislaw Lipinski; score was composed by Henryk Wars, who later succeeded in Hollywood. Texts for the songs were written by Feliks Konarski „Ref-Ren” and included his famous The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino. In the 1960’s, together with his wife actress Nina Olenska, he settled in Chicago where he establised theatre and put together numerous artistic projects. Konarski was brilliant animator and promotor of Polish culture abroad, becoming a live legend in the Windy City. He never managed to visit free Poland, passing away one day before coming to Warsaw in 1991. The PFFA screening of THE GREAT WAY is organized in his memory. Special patrons of the event are Polish Daily „Zgoda” and Polish Theatre Congress.
The film depicts the life of an engaged couple divided by war, from the siege of Lwow in September of 1939 through the establishment of the Andres Army in the USSR, deserts of Iran, Iraq, Palestine and Egypt to the Italian campaign. It’s an epos of 120,000 people who marched 12,500 kilometers in 1,334 days. The extraordinary story is inspired by a diary of a soldier wounded in the Battle of Monte Cassino and brought to a hospital, found by a nurse.
Put together by the National Film Archives – Audiovisual Institute, the premiere of of the remastered film see before and after is another step towards restoring cinematic heritage to Polish culture and collective memory. The event pays a tribute to war and emigration artists who sustained the national spirit and hope for a return to free land, some of their colleagues did not live to see.
A special exhibition prepared by FINA, THE GREAT WAY. THE ANDERS ARMY will be on display in the Society for Arts (1112 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago) until December 5, 2022. The exhibit is curated by Dorota Lekka, Ph.D. of the National Film Archives.
The 34. PFFA screenings will be held in conveniently located AMC NewCity 14 (1500 N. Clybourn Ave., Chicago), AMC Rosemont 12 (9701 N. Bryn Mawr Ave., Rosemont), AMC Village Crossing 18 (7000 N. Carpenter Ave. by Central Ave., Skokie), and Gallery Theatre (1112 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago), the festival’s primary location for showings of documentary films. The theatres offer free or validated parking.
Selected films will be available by streaming online.
Most popular among PFFA audiences Festival Pass valid for seven individually selected films in any theatre provides substantial savings compared to buying single tickets. Its price is $ 88.00 and is available for purchase HERE. For more information, call the PFFA at 773-486-9612, visit the official website www.pffamerica.com or send an e-mail to pffamerica@pffamerica.com
The 34th Polish Film Festival in America is organized by The Society for Arts, a non for profit 501 c (3) organization. Major sponsors are Startech Glass and Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland.
All donations to PFFA are tax-exempt
