Screening of "Blind Chance"

Cinema Social Club & Polish Migrants Organise for Change (POMOC) invite you to a free screening of the experimental film “Blind Chance” (Polish: Przypadek) by the Polish award-winning director, Krzysztof Kieślowski. Touching on political themes, the film presents three separate storylines about a man running after a train, and how such an ordinary incident could influence the rest of his life. Originally completed in 1981, Blind Chance was suppressed by the Polish authorities for several years until its delayed release (in censored form) in Poland in 1987.

The event will feature a special introduction to the film recorded by Dr Michał Oleszczyk, film critic and script consultant. It will be followed by an open conversation with local representatives, leaders, and activists (details below). We invite you to watch the film, join the lively discussion, and hear ideas for how to support local community initiatives.

This screening is the second in a series of events in Liverpool using cinema to spark conversations about pressing social and political issues around the world. The series has been supported by Arrow Films, Modern Films, Cinema Nation, Heart of Glass and Merseyside Polonia and QUARRY. For updates, follow us on Instagram or Facebook: @polishmigrantsorganise and @cinemasocialclubliverpool

WHEN:

Sunday, 5 February 2022

Doors open at 4.30pm / film at 5:00pm / discussion at 7:00pm

WHERE:

QUARRY, 17 Love Lane L3 7DD Liverpool.

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ABOUT THE FILM:

Blind Chance (Polish: Przypadek) is a Polish film written and directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Bogusław Linda. The film offers three separate possible life stories about a man running after a train and how such an ordinary incident could influence the rest of the man's life. In one, he becomes a Party member. In the second, he instead joins a dissident movement, and in the third he decides “not to be involved in either.”

Running time: 122 minutes

Language: Polish

Subtitles: English

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Dr Michał Oleszczyk (recording-only): film critic, script consultant and scholar based in Poland.In 2012, he was named the Critic of the Year by the Polish Film Institute. His work has appeared in numerous Polish outlets, as well as on American websites. He wrote the first Polish book on the films of Terence Davies. Michał is also well known for his podcast called SpoilerMaster.

Honorata Mikołajew (she/her) is the founder and facilitator of Cinema Social Club. Honorata studied film and media and film direction in Łódż, Poland where she wrote a BA Thesis about Kieślowski’s work. She also worked as a radio journalist in Poland and had her author's film broadcast. From 2012, Honorata was involved in organising a series of cultural events for Merseyside Polonia including Communities Through Film, hosting the Play Poland and Kinoteka Film Festivals in Liverpool. She was also a volunteer programmer at Liverpool Small Cinema and co-founder of Big Adventure Cinema.

Olga Macrinici (she/they) is a queer migrant and disabled theatre artist living in the UK for over five years. She was born in the USSR, grew up in Moldova, and studied in Romania. Olga writes and directs theatre, works with young people and community groups, runs playwriting workshops, and more recently, performs as a drag king under the name Valera.BeLoved. She works tirelessly towards increasing queer, disabled representation on stage in the UK.

Olivia Masoja (they/she) is a queer Polish-Zimbabwean migrant activist and the Liverpool Coordinator for Polish Migrants Organise for Change (POMOC). They co-organised the first ever Pride in Kielce, Poland, and attended marches and protests organised by the Polish Women’s Strike. At POMOC, Olivia contributed to the development the Anti-Racist Polish Dictionary (Słownik Antyrasizmu), and works on various local and national community-building and organising projects.

Prof Peter North (he/they) is Professor of Alternative Economies in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Liverpool. His current research focuses on legacies of the 'People's Poland' on progressive thinking about economic issues in today's Poland. He was lucky enough to turn 18 in 1980 and to observe from afar and be inspired by what Billy Bragg at the time called 'history being made' in the Lenin Shipyards.

Facilitator: Marzena Zukowska (they/them) is a Liverpool-based organiser, communications strategist, and co-director of Polish Migrants Organise for Change (POMOC). For a decade, they have developed narrative and organising strategies for leading social and political movements in the US, UK and Europe. Marzena is a trustee of Migrants Organise, and co-leads the Radical Communicators Network. They are a queer, nonbinary Polish immigrant who was born in Białystok and grew up undocumented in Chicago.

ABOUT THE ORGANISERS

Polish Migrants Organise for Change (POMOC) is a grassroots political home for Polish migrant women and gender nonconforming people living in the UK to organise together towards dignity, power and justice. For updates, follow us on Instagram or Facebook: @polishmigrantsorganise

Cinema Social Club is a film project created by Honorata Mikołajew which involves film screenings & discussions in various venues in Liverpool. For updates, follow us on Instagram or Facebook: @cinemasocialclubliverpool

Host or Publisher Cinema Social Club & POMOC