You are now listening to the UR Quadcast, the official podcast of the University of Rochester.
I’m Peter Iglinski, your host for this episode. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Polish Film Festival in Rochester, presented by the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies. Each fall, the festival features more than a dozen classic and contemporary films from the world of Polish cinema. Selecting the films is the responsibility of Bozenna Sobolewska, the administrative assistant at the Skalny Center, and thank you for joining us today, Dr. Sobolewska.
Bozenna Sobolewska: Thank you very much for having me.
PI: Now this is the 20th anniversary, as I said, of the Polish Film Festival. Did you always expect the festival to become a local fixture?
BS: Well, I certainly hope so. I mean, I couldn’t predict because it always depends on funding and films’ availability but I certainly hope so.
PI: How did it all get started, and what were the first few years like?
BS: The festival started like 20 years ago, and it was created by the former director of the Skalny Center at the time, Dr. Ewa Hauser, in cooperation with the Polish Film Festival in America, which the festival is located in Chicago, and it assisted in the creation of several branches of local festivals in different American cities. So the films that we would get from Poland arrived usually first in Chicago and then they were traveling among different cities with different Polish festivals. There was usually just one copy of a film, which were made on 35mm tapes, and sometimes on several reels, so the boxes were really very, very heavy, and they had to be sent as plane cargo, and it was our responsibility to pick them up, deliver first to the campus, where the festival took place, or later to the Little Theatre, and things like that. So it was really hard work. You know, later, of course these 35mm tapes were replaced by DVDs, and still lighter Blu-ray and DCPs (digital cinema packages) so our life became much easier than, than there.
PI: So when did you take over?
BS: I took over briefly in like 1999, and then more permanently in 2003, I think.
PI: Was there good attendance in the early years? I mean, was, did it look then, pretty much like it looks now?
BS: No, it looked different. First of all, it was at the beginning. It was located on the University of Rochester campus, so the access of people to the campus was, you know, less then as to a regular film theater. It wasn’t as well publicized, also the difficulties with projection were greater, because we didn’t have professional projectionists and sometimes those tapes would break during the projection or they would have to be rewound, and then the audience would be surprised when the film stopped just in the middle.
PI: So it’s, it’s much nicer today?
BS: So, it is definitely nicer today. We also have more fans due to the, the grants we get from Polish Site.
PI: So where does the festival take place? Why don’t you tell us, what are the venues for the festival now? It’s not on campus like it used to be.
BS: No, now it is, most of it is at the Little Theatre. However, we also show some films at the Dryden. Usually the opening of the festival is at the Dryden Theatre and then followed by the reception at George Eastman Museum and since now the festival is kind of divided into two parts, first is devoted to old Polish movies, like the real classics, and the second is devoted to the newest Polish movies. Then the first part is usually at the Dryden, and the second at the Little.
PI: You know, as I mentioned at the beginning, the festival is put on, presented by the Skalny Center. How does this fit in with the mission of the Skalny Center?
BS: Well, part of the mission of the Skalny Center is promoting Polish culture and Poland as a country. And I think that film is a medium that really allows us to connect with Poland and Polish culture in the best way, because it really presents not only the lifestyle in Poland, now, and the, the past times and also like the music, how the people behave, what they eat, how they talk, you know, and many different aspects of Polish culture.
PI: Do you find that it’s mostly the Polish community who turns out? Or is it a cross section of the local community who comes to the films?
BS: We have definitely quite a large Polish community here in Rochester, so they are very faithful, and they come. However, there is probably like 50 percent of just regular Rochesterians. Of course, it’s also connected with the fact that the festival is organized and promoted by the University of Rochester, so students and faculty and staff are also interested in the films. I’m really very happy that students are involved, because, you know, once you teach something to youngsters, they will remember it, probably for time to come, so.
PI: Now it’s worth mentioning that one doesn’t need to know Polish to watch the films.
BS: Certainly not, all films have subtitles in English.
PI: Okay, what made Rochester a good venue for the festival?
BS: Well, first of all, as I said, we have quite a large Polish community, so it’s always good to have. But also, and maybe even more importantly, there are these fantastic film theaters like the Little and Dryden that are willing to show these films. And they have their well-established audiences that like, say, non-Hollywood films, a bit more independent, foreign, so those people always come to the festival, the Polish festival, as well as to many other festivals that are going on in Rochester around the year.
PI: Are there any characteristics that define Polish cinema in particular?
BS: You know, especially older Polish movies, were really set deeply in Polish reality, so they reflected Polish history, Polish literature, Polish culture in general. So they were quite distinctive from many other—from films from many other countries. They represented a so-called national style. Nowadays, you know, when the borders between countries and between cultures are kind of blurred, with the development of Internet, Netflix, and all other, you know, media, it’s, this national character is a bit less visible, I would say. So there are less differences between different European countries, however, I would think that Polish film is still different than mainstream American movies, in the sense that it’s not like, the, very much like an action movie. Filmmakers use more visual talk in the film; films are more artistic. Sometimes even these boundaries between art and film are really blurred. For example, like in the great movie of Lech Majewski, The Mill and the Cross, which just reinstated a magnificent picture of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Way (Procession) to Cavalry. Or like the very recent film, Loving Vincent, that just brings to life paintings by Vincent van Gogh. So these kind of films are maybe more typical for Polish cinema than other countries’ films.
PI: Now when you look at what Hollywood gives us, it’s a range of drama, and comedy, satire, action movies, horror movies. Do you get the same breakdown in Polish cinema?
BS: Yes, sure. We have, we have still a lot of films that are devoted to Polish history, and also we have quite, maybe not so many of horror movies as in America. We have some science fiction. We have some comedies. However, I would say that comedies are not the strongest part of Polish cinema. Drama—I don’t know, maybe it’s easier to make a drama than a comedy, but they are definitely more popular among Polish films.
PI: Now, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, did Polish cinema change much since then, or because of that?
BS: Yes it changed much and since then, because of that, you know, right after the end of the second World War, in Poland there was, of course, the film industry was nationalized so the film industry was run by the state, and the state requirements were very strictly imposed, so the censorship was really, really very strict and everything had to be done within this realm of, of a social realistic style, and after the fall of Stalinism in Poland, so around mid, middle of the ‘50’s the political events led to political changes in Poland, and this turn led to a different approach to art and to film among others, so that in time a new wave of young and vital film directors emerged, and as they started to make movies that started to deal with normal problems in Poland, not political problems, but about others like they, related to social and social life and, literally life and philosophy and history in Poland, and really films became the big and very important part of Polish culture, so that was the situation. One more, one more interesting thing was that since it was still owned by the state, it was also financed by the state, so once the film got permission to be, to be made, filmmakers did not have to worry about a budget. They usually got what they wanted and the budget was big, so that was easy for them, and this situation changed dramatically when the Poland returned to the democracy in 1989, and then the film industry was transferred into the free market economy so also the censorship was then abolished and the filmmakers, like the film directors and film producers, had to decide by themselves how to make films so that they are a financial success or fail and that caused the commercialization of Polish films, so the period in like beginning of ‘90’s, into the ‘90’s, was not really good for Polish cinema, and the level of films was worse than it was in previous decades just because, you know, they had, they were not sufficient films for public funds for making films. This situation again changed, it started to change during the beginning of the 21st century with the new directors that started to make movies, more ambitious movies, but first of all, was the establishment of the Polish Film Institute in 2005. This Polish Film Institute was, was in its main mission, was to assist in all aspects of making movies in Poland so to provide funds for films, to provide funds for international corporations, to provide funds for film promotions in abroad, and this really helped and so since then we could say that the film production and film industry in Poland is really in very, very good shape.
PI: You clearly know a lot about Polish cinema, and it might surprise some people to know that you have your doctorate in Physics. So how did you take on this role, and how did you become so well versed in cinema?
BS:Well I always liked watching movies and during my time—when I was living in Poland, when I was young—there was really a lot of good movies, not only Polish, but also European, like very famous directors in Italy or France, so I really liked watching movies. Then when I started to work at the Skalny Center, it was also my job to, to take care of the festival, so I had to be more involved in anything that was concerning Polish movies. Also I started to go to the film festival in Gdynia, Poland, which is the largest film festival in Poland, just to select movies for our film festival. Of course I watched a lot of movies, and also I discussed about these movies with other guests from film festivals and filmmakers and actors, so it also helped.
PI: Now you select the films. What do you look for when you’re deciding which films go into the festival?
BS: Well I’m by no means a film expert, so I just try to follow my common sense, you know, when I think that I love, I like the film, I would suppose that other people might also like it, so I’m looking for a good plot for very good performances by actors and also for a story that would appeal to an American audience, not only a Polish audience, because some films, you know, are so deeply related to Polish style of life that they might not be attractive for, for an audience.
PI: What are some of the reasons you’ve rejected a film?
BS: Well first of all we have some rules for films that are screened by us, and these rules are that the film must be of Polish production or at least co-production and, if not, it should be directed by a Polish director, so if I’m suggested to show a film that does not fulfill these rules, it’s automatically rejected. But also, you know of course, I prefer films that have good reviews and that I like, and these kinds of films I try to get. Of course it’s not easy, and it’s not always like that, that if I want to show a film I can get this film for a festival, but I try.
PI: Let’s look at this year’s festival as kind of a case study in putting a program together. Tell us what people can look for in this year’s festival and your thought process in deciding what to include and how to structure it.
BS: Well, in a nutshell, we looked at this year seven feature films and one documentary, and there will be four films that are based on true stories that is dealing with life of real people, like biographies, and we will have one historical film, which is set during the Second World War in the former southeast part of Poland. It was a very dramatic situation that time in this region, so this film is telling the story about it. We’ll also have one film which is set in Ciechocinek, which is the opposite, like southwest of Poland, and this is like—part of it is set before the Second World War, part of it is after the Second World War. We will also have one documentary which is interesting, because it is actually the first corporate action between Poland and India, and it tells a story about one thousand children that travelled from Poland and Siberia during the World War to India to be safe there, and they found a home there, and they spent like four years of their life in India, so this stories is said through the interview with survivors that are now based in wars.
PI: Now the festival is broken down to Part One and Part Two, and the grand opening actually occurs at the beginning of Part Two. Can you tell us about how that’s all put together?
BS: Yeah, this edition of Part One occurred after we started to get the funds for the festival from the Polish Film Institute and as part of its mission of promoting Polish films abroad, so when we had more of a budget for this, we decided to introduce this first part, which is so-called Polish classic movies, so it’s devoted as I said to showcasing real treasures of Polish cinema, and the second part is devoted to the newest movies, usually of this year or a year before, and we also bring the guests from Poland like directors or actors and that’s why we have this opening before the second part of the festival, because then we can host this guest also at the opening, at least usually.
PI: There are other cities that have Polish Film Festivals; Chicago comes to mind. Does the Polish Film Festival in Rochester differ from festivals elsewhere? Does it have a different feel? Is there something specific about the Rochester festival?
BS: Well they have festivals that are really very much in scope like Chicago and Los Angeles. They show, I don’t know, twenty something films so we cannot afford that, and our audience is not that big. Our festival is different in that way. Also that we have these two parts, one devoted to old movies, one to the new movies. It’s, I don’t think that other festivals do it on such a regular base. Also, you know, this film, this film festival is organized by the University, which is very unique I would say. I think that all other festivals are organized by Polish communities, some non-profit organizations, but none is organized by the University, so this also brings different kind of audiences to the films and to the festivals. We also try to bring our guests to the campus, so that they can meet with students and faculty directly inside of the University.
PI: So there’s more going on than just what is seen in the theatre for the festival?
BS: Yeah.
PI: Are, are the audience tastes different? Do people in Rochester want the same thing—appreciate the same things—as Chicago or other cities?
BS: Well I think that yes. I mean it’s really difficult for me to compare because I didn’t go to the festivals in other cities, and I didn’t talk to the audience, but I think the audience, if it’s, you know, mixed audience like ours, that it’s part Polish, part American, and they have similar perception of films and other art, as well. So in general, I think, yeah, it’s similar.
PI: I know in music sometimes, people would say, in some cities, the audiences have a more conservative taste in music; some are little more, you know, experimental.
BS: I really cannot tell.
PI: How many people do you expect for the festival this year?
BS: Well, probably something like 800 or more. I don’t know. It’s always good to have more, than less, but the audience is steadily growing in number from one year to another, so I hope that will not fall, will not be short of like this 800 or 700 or something like that.
PI: Do you get feedback from the audiences what they especially liked or what they didn’t like, and were you ever surprised by the reaction from the audience?
BS: Ah, yes, quite often I get feedback. I also attend all those films, you know, at the Little and Dryden, so very often people just approach me and, and say “Oh it was wonderful,” or “Well, you know, it was strange,” so I know immediately. Sometimes people write notes to me. They thank me for showing something that was of very particular interest for them. Also there is like a site, a website, that’s like made by Little Theatre fans, and they comment on films that they see at the Little Theatre, and very often they comment on Polish film, and usually those comments are very positive, so I’m glad.
PI: Have those comments informed you in future years, you know, in putting together a program? Have you thought about the feedback and taken that to mind when you’re putting together…
BS: Sure, sure. I always try to you know, to figure out what’s best for the public and what people would really like and what they would not like also. So, sure, these comments are very useful.
PI: What do you think the highlight of this year’s festival is?
BS: Well, the opening will be definitely very interesting. We are showing this last, very last film of Andrzej Wajda. Andrzej Wajda the most prominent, I would say, Polish film director, and he passed away about a year ago, and so this film that he made, he finished just a few months before his death. He died, by the way, at the nice age of 90. So he was very productive till the very end, so that will be his last film and I’m sure that people would like to see this film, and we also have, like for example, there will be a fantastic movie about Marie Curie Sklodowska. Sklodowska Curie, you know, famous Polish physicist and chemist who received two Nobel Prizes, and this film would show not only her scientific life, but also her non-standard love life. It’s perfectly played, you know, great cost factors and really, it’s, it’s a Poland, France, a couple of action.
PI: You told us about some of the changes in the festival over the last 20 years. What do you see as you look forward? Are you anticipating any changes in the festival? Will the festival evolve in the future?
BS: Well I would definitely like to show more films at the festival, but it doesn’t depend entirely on me. It depends on funds, first of all. You know, every year I write a proposal to the Polish Film Institute and Polish Filmmaker Association in Poland, and so far, we are lucky to receive these funds, however during this year and the year before, they are smaller than before, so these funds are, you know, Polish, Poland situation is also not stable totally, budget wise, so it’s difficult to foresee what we’ll get, say, next year. We might get more or less, and I really don’t know, but I hope that at least this size and level of the festival will be able to exist in the future.
PI: And is there anything else you’d like us to know about the local Polish Film Festival?
BS: Well, I just would like to invite, invite everybody to come and see the films by themselves and judge whether I told the truth during this interview.
PI: And I’ve been speaking with Dr. Bozenna Sobolweska, who is the administrative assistant at the Skalny Center, which presents the Polish Film Festival in Rochester. Thanks for being with us.
BS: Thank you very much.
PI: My thanks also to Kyle Tworek our audio engineer. For the University of Rochester Quadcast, I’m Peter Iglinski.