Sunday, October 27
&
Sunday, November 3 | 2:oo p.m.
Both films are in Polish with English subtitles
Figurant (Strawman)
2023, 113 min.
Directed by: Robert Gliński
Set in Communist Poland, the black and white film is based on true events and tells the unknown story of a surveillance operation whose target was Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II. Told from the perspective of a young secret service officer in charge of the 20-year operation of covertly following the man who would be Pope, it is both an espionage thriller and a tale of the metamorphosis of the secret service officer who will come face-to-face with the tensions of the human condition: faith and doubt, love and mistrust, and pursuit of truth in a world full of moral ambiguity.
Czerwone Maki (Red Poppies)
2024, 122 min.
Directed by: Krzysztof Lukaszewicz
Czerwone Maki is the first Polish feature film about the famous and victorious Battle of Monte Cassino. In 1944, the Polish II Corps is assigned to carry out a daring assault on the heavily fortified German Gustav Line around the Monte Cassino Monastery. After three failed engagements, fierce Nazi counterattacks, and heavy losses, Allied troops spearheaded by the Polish Corps conquer the hill. A story told through the experiences of a young soldier, this spectacular battle decided the lives of many soldiers and the fate of the Allied offensive in Italy. An incredible story of one of the turning points of World War II.
Shown on Sunday, November 3.