Kawalerowicz’s films highlight Polish fest

On the off chance you aren't completely festival'd out from High Falls and ImageOut, The Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies at the University of Rochester kicks off its 2001 Polish Film Festival this Friday at the Little Theatre.

This year, there are two very special events you won't want to miss. First is a series of three classics from legendary director Jerzy Kawalerowicz: 1959's The Night Train, 1967 Oscar nominee Pharaoh and 1983 Cannes winner The Inn. And on Sunday, director Filip Bajon will be the guest of honor at a reception held prior to a screening of his latest film, The Spring To Come, a lovely adaptation of Stefan Zeromski's 1924 novel about a Poland that had gained its independence just six years earlier. Zeromski's book is one of the most significant works to come from Poland, and the film is nearly as enduring.

And if you just can't get enough of Zeromski (who is required reading for anyone taking Slavonic Literature courses), you won't want to miss Sisyphean Labours, which was additionally adapted from a popular 1999Polish television miniseries. It's about two students --- one the son of a nobleman and the other a peasant --- trying to come of age while dealing with Russian authoritarianism in the late 19th century.

Also worth mentioning is Away From the Window, a screen version of Hanna Krall's 1985 short story about a Jewish woman who is taken in by a married Polish couple during the German occupation. Trouble ensues when the boarder is impregnated by her landlord, and instead of getting angry, his wife decides to pretend she's the one having the baby.