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1517 W. Fullerton Ave.
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CHARLES COLEMAN
Film Programmer for Facets Cinémathèque

Read his feature in the Chicago Reader

November 2012

The Facets Cinémathèque is located at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. For more information on films playing in the Cinémathèque, please call 773-281-4114.

The 24th Annual
POLISH FILM FESTIVAL
IN AMERICA

November 5-11

"The Polish Film Festival in America offers one of Chicago's most in-depth showcases of a national cinema"
  -Chicago Sun-Times

The 24th Polish Film Festival in America, one of Chicago's premier film events, will have over sixty features and documentary films made by Polish filmmakers. Throughout the Festival, audience members will vote for the most interesting feature and documentary film. The winners will receive the "Golden Teeth" Award. The winners will receive the "Golden Teeth" Award.

Tickets to the Opening Night Gala will be available at www.pffamerica.com. Please call 773.486.9612 for additional information.

Monday, Nov. 5

COURAGE
(WYMYK)

This thought-provoking film tells the story of two brothers and their broken relationship. The siblings, Fred and Jurek, are quite different—the latter holds a college degree and a trip to the United States, of which allows him to make prosperous decisions for the business they both operate. Filled with jealousy, Fred refuses any suggestions for their business and continues to portray the image of the older, risk-taking brother. A trip on the train, however, proves to be a life-changing event for the brothers, where the ultimate test of courage is brought forth. Fred tries to make sense of the train ride while self-disgust overtakes his once, prideful mind and leads him to change—for better, or for worse.

Directed by Greg Zgliński, Poland, 2011, 85 min.

YouTube trailer        

Showtime:
7 pm

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LETTERS TO SANTA
(LISTY DO M.)

December 24th lingers with uneasiness for several interrelated characters, all of which lack an element of the ideal Christmas: getting the night off from work, fixing a broken family, or fulfilling the dream of finally meeting "the one". This charming comedy follows a network of individuals that come across one another while in search for a sign that maybe this year, Christmas can finally feel like...Christmas.

Directed by Mitja Okorn, Poland, 2011, 117 min.

YouTube trailer        

Showtime:
8:45 ppm

Tuesday, Nov. 6

WOMAN IN THE FIFTH
(KOBIETA Z PIĄTEJ DZIELNICY)

Tom Ricks (Ethan Hawke), one-time American writer and university professor, travels to Paris to win back the love of his estranged wife and his six-year old daughter. He aims at putting his life together. When things don't go according to plan—his wife wants nothing to do with him and he gets robbed on a bus—he ends up in a shady hotel, having to work as a night guard to make ends meet. The only variety to his daily routine is a noncommittal sex with Ania, Polish waitress from a nearby bar. Then, Margit, an interpreter, a beautiful, mysterious stranger walks into his life and things start looking up. Their passionate and intense relationship triggers a string of inexplicable events… as if an obscure power was taking control of his life.

Directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, France/Poland/UK, 2012, 85 min.

YouTube trailer     Slant Magazine     New York Times        

Showtime:
7 pm

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ELLES
(SPONSORING)

Anne (Juliette Binoche) is not only a mother and wife struggling with her domestic priorities, but a writer for Elle magazine that is struggling to understand the subjects of her unfinished article—the young and beautiful girls that have opted for prostitution in order to maintain survival. Flipping through recordings and flashbacks of her interviews, Anne is forced to acknowledge her own emotions and womanhood. Viewers also come to see the forbidden and seductive nature of the girls who, in their innocent appearances, carry shadows of the taboo lifestyle. In the process of it all, the two girls stray away from remaining as subjects in Anne's article and instead, shine as reflectors of Anne's own desires.

Directed by Małgorzata Szumowska, Poland, 2011, 95 min.

YouTube trailer        

Showtime:
8:45 pm

Wednesday, Nov. 7

FEAR OF FALLING
(LĘK WYSOKOŚCI)

Tomek leads a comfortable life as a TV anchor and family man when he receives a troubling message from the psychiatric hospital in his hometown: his father, whom he has not seen in years, has just been admitted. Against the advice of friends and family, not to mention his own better judgment, Tomek returns home to face the man he hardly knows. After a failed, guilt-ridden attempt to sell his father's apartment, Tomek decides to make up for lost time. Kidnapping his aging father from the hospital, the two embark on a vacation to the mountains in an effort to restore some semblance of a relationship. (Denver Film Society)

Directed by Bartosz Konopka, Poland, 2011, 87 min.

YouTube trailer        

Showtime:
7 pm

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LOSE TO WIN
(NAD ŻYCIE)

The young, energetic and beautiful volleyball athlete, Agata Mróz, appears to have it all—extreme talent in the sport she loves, fame, and love. What Agata also holds is very unusual bone marrow, as a result of her Myelodysplastic syndrome. After being forced off the Polish Women's National Volleyball team due to negative test results in her last physical examination, she tries to make sense of her life and discover its purpose. During the good and bad times, Agata manages to find hope and comfort radiating from friends, family, and an entire nation.

Directed by Anna Plutecka-Mesjasz, Poland, 2012, 90 min.

YouTube trailer        

Showtime:
8:45 pm

Thursday, Nov. 8

WOMEN'S DAY
(DZIEŃ KOBIET)

The newly promoted Halina is excited about her management position in the "Motylek" grocery store and the raise that comes with it. For her, things seem to be going well: her mom is nearly done with chemotherapy, her daughter has a new computer to help her practice for her an IT competition, and she seems to be on firm ground with her boss. However, things seem to a take a turn for the worse as Halina's employees, who were once known to her as friends, turn their backs on her as she transitions into a manager pushed by the unethical obligations of the company. Circumstances bring Halina to rebel against the company, taking the words her boss once told her as an inspiration: everything is possible; you just have to want it.

Directed by Maria Sadowska, Poland, 2012, 90 min.

YouTube trailer        

Showtime:
7 pm

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BIG LOVE

Emilka (an amazing Aleksandra Humkało) meets the slightly-older Maciek (Antoni Pawlicki) out at a club one night. He shows Emilka—who was brought up by a single mom—a whole new world filled with desire, passion, restlessness and rebellion. The girl moves in with him and at first everything seems just perfect, but gradually Emilka discovers her separate identity, and starts to grow apart from him. When her dream of becoming a singer comes true, Maciek feels threatened. A toxic love game begins, full of lust and jealousy. (OffPlusCamera)

Directed by Barbara Białowąs, Poland, 2012, 99 min.

Showtime:
8:45 pm

Friday, Nov. 9

SUPERMARKET

Food and appliances are not the only things one can find in this morality thriller. It's New Year's Eve and as the supermarket prepares for an event to help raise sales, security is pushed to keep an extra careful eye on shoplifters. Drowning in his misfortune, Michał browses the supermarket in search of a stolen car battery but a false accusation of stealing brings him to the interrogation room where ethical behavior is ignored by head-of-security, Mr. Jasminski. Evil is within reach in the store like all other merchandise. Secrets abound and while all staff members fight for answers, they also begin to question and test one another's limits.

Directed by Maciej Żak, Poland, 2012, 84 min.

YouTube trailer     Chicago Reader    

Showtime:
7 pm

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80 MILLION
(80 MILIONÓW)

80 million is an action feature film based on a true story, set in Wroclaw just a few days before the imposing of martial law in December 1981. Four young activists of a Solidarity movement plot to withdraw all the funds from Union's account in National Bank of Poland before the communist regime freezes it. But how do you transfer and hide 80 million zlotych in cash? Allied with Catholic Church officials and local money dealers, young heroes begin the race to outwit Security Service officers and their leader—arrogant and despotic captain Sobczyk. Waldemar Krzystek's film captures a period from Polish communist history in an original, satirical and universal way. The movie is this year’s Polish entry to the Academy Award in a foreign language category.

Directed by Waldemar Krzystek, Poland, 2011, 102 min.

YoutTube trailer        

Showtime:
8:45 pm

Saturday, Nov. 10

IT LOOKS PRETTY FROM A DISTANCE
(Z DALEKA WIDOK JEST PIĘKNY)

An anonymous Polish village with breathtaking bucolic countryside landscapes, lush forests, and golden fields, and a river...but when we look through the magnifying glass, all the beauty dissolves into the reality of everyday villagers' life. Children play with scrap, residents say the bottom of the river is full of corpses, and everybody knows everything about others. Pawel makes a living by selling scrap. He lives in an old shack with his mother who suffers from dementia. When her disease becomes unmanageable, the old woman is sent away, and Paul's girlfriend moves in with him. Trying to make their place livable, girl throws away a bed covered with maggots, scrubs the moldy walls and rotten furniture. One day Pawel vanishes. His girlfriend returns to her parents, and neighbors decide to "take care" of abandoned house. Everyone is convinced that Pawel will never be back... With minimal dialogue, the film paints a naturalistic metaphor of life driven by impulses and cannibalistic materialism.

Directed by Anna & Wilhelm Sasnal, Poland, 2011, 77 min.

YouTube trailer     Variety     Slant Magazine        

Showtime:
5:30 pm

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ROMAN POLANSKI. A FILM MEMOIR
(ROMAN POLAŃSKI. MOJE Z.YCIE)

The film documents the full-length conversation between Roman Polanski and his trusted friend and producing partner Andrew Braunsberg. That conversation took place while Polanski was under house arrest in Switzerland in 2009, threatened with extradition to the U.S. to face sexual misconduct charges dating to 1977. In front of his friend the famous director—whose career achievements have to a large extent been overshadowed by tragedy, scandal and a media machine—exposes the extraordinary events that shaped his life: the charge of unlawful sex with an underage girl, his childhood wartime experiences in the occupied Poland, the horrific murder of his second wife Sharon Tate in their rented California house by the Charles Manson gang. Bouzereau's film is strongest in explaining the effects director's life has had on his movies.

Directed by Laurent Bouzereau, Poland, 2011, 90 min.

YouTube trailer        

Showtime:
7 pm

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SURPRISE SCREENING

Details TBA

Showtime:
9 pm

Sunday, Nov. 11

HANS KLOSS:
MORE THAN DEATH AT THE STAKE
(KLOSS. STAWKA WIEKSZA NIŻ ŚMIERĆ)

His name is Kloss. Hans Kloss. The main character from the popular 1960's war-action series, also known as J-23—a smart, confident and handsome Polish secret agent, who impersonates a Nazi officer to sabotage German intelligence services. Now for the first time on the big screen, Kloss is unveiling one of the biggest mysteries of World War II: the disappearance of the Amber Room. The story is told in two different time frames: in 1944 when the Chamber was seen for the last time, and in socialist 70's when J-23 is reactivated to help the Polish government find the most wanted treasure in exchange for an unexpected promise... Of course the story would not be complete without a beautiful woman and Kloss's eternal enemy, Herman Brunner.

Directed by Patryk Vega, Poland, 2012, 117 min.

YouTube trailer        

Showtime:
3 pm

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THE TOTENTANZ:
SCENES FROM WARSAW UPRISING
(TANIEC ŚMIERCI. SCENY POWSTANIA WARSZAWSKIEGO)

1944. Warsaw Uprising, one of the fiercest battles during World War II results in the haotic evacuation of Warsaw's Old Town. Mark, a high school senior, does not join the fighting, nor does he escape the city with his mother and siblings. Instead, he takes a labyrinth of underground tunnels to get to the City Hall where his father fights in the Resistance. Irene, young mother, Volksdeutsche is looking for her only son, a boy scout fighting in the uprising against Germans. After Mark rescues Irene from being hanged for treason, the two of them continue their journey together—an attractive young woman and a naïve romantic teenager. Accompanied by the sound of an old Polish vinyl record, they both participate in the omnipresent, inevitable "dance macabre", each of them giving their performance all they have.

Inspired by memoirs of poet Miron Bialoszewski, director Leszek Wosiewicz creates a powerful, syncretic picture of history.

Directed by Leszek Wosiewicz, Poland, 2012, 91 min.

Hollywood Reporter        

Showtime:
5 pm

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TO KILL A BEAVER
(ZABIĆ BOBRA)

37 year old Eryk is a paranoid former soldier, a major, with battlefield experience in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. He returns to the neglected family home in a rural Polish backwood after a long absence. He is plans a mysterious mission which appears to be some kind of assassination. Awaiting instructions from his employers, he kills time engaging in target practice and attempting to kill local beavers that are disturbing his peace. Yet, despite his desire to be alone, an abused teenage girl, Bezi ("nameless" in Polish), intrudes upon the quiet of his unspecified plans, and the two soon engage in a torrid sexual affair. As Eryk has flashbacks to incidents in his past, it becomes clear that all is not what it seems.

Directed by Jan Jakub Kolski, Poland, 2012, 99 min.

YouTube trailer     Variety     Hollywood Reporter        

Showtime:
7 pm

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Tickets: