Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies

While Russia still allows for more openness, discussion, and freedom of expression than some authoritarian countries, it’s more complicated than that, says political science professor Randall Stone, who recently returned from a trip to Russia.

Now in its 21st year, the Polish Film Festival features nine films that tackle universal themes of human struggle, triumph, and love.

The movies were selected by the Polish Filmmakers Association, which has been presenting the series on four continents throughout the year.

Pianist Kazarzyna Musial will perform music by Polish composers, including including Ignacy Jan Paderewski—Poland's first prime minister—in a celebration of 100 years of Polish independence.

Ronald Grigor Suny, one of the preeminent historians of the Soviet Union, ethnic conflict, and nationalism, will speak as part of the Russian Studies program’s commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution.

Now in its 20th year, the Polish Film Festival is a fixture in Rochester, and for most of the last two decades, the job of choosing which films to feature has belonged to Bozenna Sobolewska, the administrative assistant of the Skalny Center for Polish and European Studies.

Murder. Adultery. Theft. Those are three of the themes explored in the 2016 Polish Film Festival. Organized by the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies, the festival is now in its ninth year.

Recent statements and revelations about Donald Trump, NATO, Russia, and the Ukraine have left political science professor Randall Stone wondering, "whether this a novel written by Tom Clancy or whether this is an episode of House of Cards." / WXXI.org

Urszula Gacek, consul general of the Republic of Poland in New York, will discuss the transformation of local government in Poland and its integration of public-private partnership, participatory budgeting, and civil society.

This year’s Polish Film Festival, put on by the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies, features stories of elusive happiness, personal struggles, history, and murder.