Domalewski’s ‘Ministranci’ to Open 38th Polish Film Festival in America

Piotr Domalewski’s “Ministranci” will open the 38th Polish Film Festival in America (PFFA) on Nov. 7. The Chicago event runs through Nov. 22 and will close with a screening of Jan Holoubek’s “Dziki, dziki Wschód.” The festival’s founder, Christopher Kamyszew, will be honored.

The opening gala is scheduled for the Gallery Theatre. The festival program includes feature films and documentaries. “Ministranci,” which won the Golden Lions in Gdynia, tells the story of teenagers who decide to fight social injustice. They install a bugging device in a confessional, and their idealistic mission gradually spins out of control.

The screening will be preceded by a short film by the Quay brothers, “Postscriptum. Ruminations on My Craft,” made for the 30th anniversary of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s death.

Earlier previews of the program also named “Pojedynek” by Łukasz Palkowski, “Dobry chłopiec” by Jan Komasa, “Przez ścianę” by Maciej Sobieszczański and “Gra o wszystko” by Ewa Stankiewicz-Jorgensen.

Screenings will take place at the Gallery Theatre and AMC New City. The films will be shown in English-language versions or with English subtitles.

On Nov. 10 at the Gallery Theatre, Christopher Kamyszew, the founder and chairman of PFFA, will receive the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis. He has promoted Polish culture in North America since 1984. After the ceremony, the documentaries “Inga” and “Kashpirovskiy. Under the Spell” will be presented.

The festival will close on Nov. 22 at the Gallery Theatre with “Dziki, dziki Wschód,” a drama set in the winter of 1943 in occupied Poland.

Audiences will choose the best feature film and documentary by awarding the traditional audience prizes, the “Złote Zęby” (Golden Teeth).

From New York, Andrzej Dobrowolski (PAP)