28th Chicago European Union Film Festival Spotlight: Poland, it is our pleasure, with the generous support of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago, to present two weeks of the best new and classic films from Poland and Polish filmmakers. Join us March 7–20, as we present 20 films, including 13 new titles-and 12 Chicago premieres-alongside classics from filmmakers including Krzysztof Kieslowski, Agnieszka Holland, and Andrzej Wajda. Meet filmmakers visiting us from Poland, and enjoy taste from the country through special events and at our concession stand.

Schedule

Sunday, March 9, 2025

12:30 pm

UNDER THE VOLCANO

POD WULKANEM

2024, Damian Kocur, Poland, 105 mins

In English and Ukrainian and Spanish with English subtitles | Format: Digital

In Damian Kocur’s timely UNDER THE VOLCANO, a Ukrainian family is wrapping up their sun-soaked holiday in the Canary Islands when Russia invades their homeland. In an instant, they are no longer tourists, but refugees. Frantically waiting for news from home, father Roman, stepmother Nastia, teenage Sofiia, and young Fedir are grounded: trapped in paradise as other travelers go about their vacations, oblivious to their situation, anxieties, and alienation. UNDER THE VOLCANO, Poland's submission to the Academy Awards for Oscar consideration, is a sensitive and authentic portrait of displacement and unquestionably a war movie, though not a single shot is fired, nor a bomb dropped.

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2:45 pm

EUROPA EUROPA

1990, Agnieszka Holland, Poland/Germany/France, 112 mins

In Polish, German, Russian, and Hebrew with English subtitles | Format: Digital

Agnieszka Holland-whose GREEN BORDER won Best Film at the 2024 Polish Film Awards-gained international acclaim for EUROPA EUROPA. Based on a true story, German Jew Solomon Perel, who is separated from his family during WWII, finds himself surviving only by reluctantly hiding his Jewishness. In a Soviet orphanage he learns Russian, then uses his skills to work as an interpreter for the German army. When he returns home, he enlists in the Hitler Youth Academy-a horror that continues to keep his identity a secret. EUROPA EUROPA is a damning refutation of the idea of racial purity and a coming-of-age story like no other.

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5:30 pm

THREE COLORS: BLUE

TROIS COULEURS: BLEU

1993, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland/France/Switzerland, 98 mins

In Polish, French and Romanian with English subtitles | Format: 4K Digital Restoration

Inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, Warsaw-born master Krzysztof Kieslowski designed his critically acclaimed THREE COLORS trilogy as an exploration of liberty, equality, and fraternity. In BLUE, Julie (a riveting Juliette Binoche) is devastated after her husband and daughter are killed in a car accident. Overwhelmed with grief, she attempts to sever all ties with her life and the people who knew her before the accident, but finds that, either by her own hand or through coincidence, her past continues to connect with her present. A meditative study of personal freedom, BLUE is a hypnotic and exceptional cinematic experience.

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Date: March 7 - 20, 2025