The New England chapter of the Kosciuszko Foundation will help mark Polish Heritage Month by showing two Polish films at Elms College. Both films focus on people who overcame challenges in their lives and went on to become successful.
The festival will begin at 2 p.m., on Oct. 22, with a showing of “Sonata,” a movie telling the true story of Grzegorz Plonka, a musician who was misdiagnosed with autism as a child. After he was diagnosed as deaf, his road to becoming a pianist began.
The festival will conclude at 2 p.m. on Nov. 5, with a showing of “Breaking the Limits,” a biopic chronicling the life of Jerzy Gorski, who went from being a heroin addict to a world-class triathlon competitor. The movie is set in the seventies and eighties, giving the audience a glimpse into life in a socialist country.
There is no admission charge for the films, but goodwill offerings will be accepted.
Both films will have English subtitles and be showcased at the Alumnae Library Theatre at Elms College in Chicopee.
Elms hosts the Polish Center of Discovery and Learning, which seeks to offer programs that showcase the history and culture of Poland.
October is Polish Heritage Month as it is the month when the first Polish settlers arrived at Jamestown, VA in 1608 as well as to commemorate the deaths of General Kazimierz Pułaski and Tadeusz Kościuszko (military leaders who fought in the American Revolution). Whether you’re Polish American or not, it’s important to mark the culture of a people who helped shape this country.
The Polish Center of Discovery and Learning is a living monument that celebrates the many contributions, both past and present, made to the economy, arts, and sciences of our nation by Polish people and their descendants. The mission of the Center at Elms College is to preserve objects representative of the material culture of the Polish people in America; to provide guidance and support materials to schools and other institutions wishing to introduce Polish topics to their students; and to offer a variety of workshops, exhibits, concerts, conferences, seminars, films, plays, lectures and other events that focus on the history and cultural traditions of the Polish people in Europe and the United States.
