On Nov. 15, the opening day of the festival, Stuhr will participate in a panel discussion at the Little Theatre with three University professors: George Grella, associate professor of English and a film critic for City Newspaper, Ewa Hauser, adjunct associate professor of political science, and Jennifer Creech, assistant professor of modern languages and cultures.
Stuhr will meet with audiences after the
Along with a strong Polish community, Rochester has a widely recognized reputation in film through the Eastman Kodak Co. and the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, explained Stone. That foundation, coupled with the growing popularity of the Rochester High Falls International Film Festival, makes the city an attractive home for a regional Polish film festival.
The films will be screened at the Little Theatre, 240 East Ave. and all will be shown with English subtitles. The ticket price is $8.00 for the evening shows and $6.00 for the matinee. Students and seniors pay $5.00. Little Theatre Film Society members receive their membership discount. For details, visit http://www.rochester.edu/college/psc/CPCES/PFF.htm or contact the Skalny Center at
A schedule of the films follows:
Nov. 15, 3 p.m. and Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m.
Camera Buff (Amator), 1979, Director: Krzysztof Kieślowski
In this political satire, Jerzy Stuhr plays Filip, a factory worker who, after the birth of his first child, buys an 8mm movie camera to record his daughter’s first few years on film. Before long, Filip is obsessed with his new hobby, and he shoots footage of nearly everything he encounters. His zeal to record all that he sees soon runs him afoul of government officials who guard secrets they don’t want revealed and of his wife who becomes fed up with his need to live life from behind the camera. Stuhr’s Filip is a remarkable creation—a man who is at once inspiring, loving, and pathetic.
Stuhr will be available to speak with the audience after the Camera Buff screenings.
Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 16, 3 p.m.
Twists of Fate (Korowód), 2007, Director: Jerzy Stuhr
This gripping film spans the moral attitudes of two generations and their complex entanglements. A former secret police officer under Polish Socialism faces the consequences for his past actions. Meanwhile, Bartek, a student who makes a career from lying and cheating, finds a briefcase and a coat containing a mobile phone on a train. When the phone begins to ring, Bartek doesn’t hesitate to answer it, setting off a shocking series of events that changes the characters’ lives forever.
A panel discussion with Jerzy Stuhr and local film experts will follow the Nov. 15 screening of Twists of Fate. Stuhr will also be available to speak to the audience after the Nov. 16 Twists of Fate screening.
Nov. 17, 7 p.m.
List of Lovers (Spis cudzolożnic), 1995, Director: Jerzy Stuhr
Jerzy Stuhr serves as the writer-director-star of this de lightful comedy, playing a shy Kraków academic given the job of showing a visiting Swedish professor around town. During their time together, Stuhr’s woman-hungry companion pushes his tour guide to locate some female companionship. When Stuhr calls up an old flame, some unusual sparks fly.
A book signing with Jerzy Stuhr will follow the Nov. 17 screening of List of Lovers.
Nov. 18, 7 p.m.
The Big Animal (Duże Zwierzę), 2000, Director: Jerzy Stuhr
Scripted by the late Krzysztof Kieślowski and shot in shimmering black-and-white by Paweł Edelman (the Oscar-nominated cinematographer for Roman Polański’s The Pianist), The Big Animal is an inspiring film celebrating the most human of themes: love, tolerance, and sacrifice. The film’s director Jerzy Stuhr stars as Zygmunt Sawicki, an ordinary bank clerk in a small Polish town, who awakens one morning to discover a camel outside his kitchen window. As he and his wife grow increasingly fond of their remarkable pet, the animal evokes their neighbors’ jealousy and greed. The Big Animal is a charming fairy tale for grownups—a wise and cautionary parable about tolerance that is at once funny, compassionate and heartwarming.
Nov. 19, 7 p.m.
Three Colors – White (Trzy Kolory – Bialy), 1994, Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
This is the second of the Three Colors trilogy Red, White, and Blue; the colors symbolizing liberty, equality, and fraternity. White, therefore, was written around the destructive dynamics of a relationship based upon great inequality. Karol, a Polish hairdresser living in Paris, is divorced by his beautiful wife for his inability to consummate the marriage. Karol loses all of his earthly possessions and is literally driven out of France. Forced to begin anew, he returns to Poland and plans a clever scheme of revenge against her.
About the University of Rochester
The University of Rochester (www.rochester.edu) is one of the nation’s leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering is complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, and the Memorial Art Gallery.