TIME, DATE, PLACE: 4 p.m., Oct. 13, The Little Theatre, 240 East Ave., Rochester
WHAT: The screening of the classic Polish film, The Issa Valley (1982), directed by Tadeusz Konwicki, serves as a prelude to this year's Polish Film Festival, which begins two weeks later and runs from Nov. 6-11. Based on the novel by Czesław Miłosz, the film takes place in Lithuania at the beginning of the 20th century, in the valley of the mythical river Issa. The story follows Tomaszek, a country boy living on a rich estate on the Polish border, on a poetic journey into the world of childhood dreams, where reality and fantasy intermingle. Individual characters are accompanied by devils and demons, well known from Lithuanian legends. The film evokes a childhood in rural Lithuania between the wars. Tomaszek realizes that his home in the Issa Valley is to be torn apart by internal political conflicts and unrests among the mixed population of Poles, Lithuanians, Jews, and Russians. He, however, is captivated by the paradise surrounding him in the forest and his fantasies.
ADMISSION: $9; students and seniors $7
SPONSOR: The University of Rochester's Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the Skalny Center at 585.275.9898.