Polish Film Festival Treat

The thousands of Polish people who have moved to Northern Ireland over the past few years are in for some reminders of home this week.

The Northern Ireland premiere of an Oscar-nominated film about the massacre of thousands of Polish soldiers during World War II and a workshop run by one of Poland's most respected writers are just some of the events being staged in Belfast as part of Polish Cultural Week.

One of the highlights of the festival is tonight's premiere of Katyn, the Oscar-nominated film by Polish director Andrzej Wajda.

This courageous film, which is part of the Polish Film Festival being staged at the city's Queen's University Film Theatre, has been described as a tribute to the memory of the thousands of Polish officers who were massacred by the Red Army during WW2 including Wajda's own father.

The film's excellent performances combined with chilling archive footage helped to earn the celebrated director his fourth Oscar nomination earlier this year.

The annual seven-day event has been organised by the Artlinks — an association set up by the Link Polska magazine and the Polish Association NI and supported by the Polish Consulate in Edinburgh — to showcase and celebrate Polish culture.

Currently there are around 35,000 Poles living in Northern Ireland, 12,000 of those live in Belfast. There are also around 200,000 living in the Republic of Ireland.

Another highlight of the festival will be a creative writing workshop with one of Poland's most respected poets, journalists and photographers, Agnieszka Klos.

The talented author, who was awarded the Polish Culture Minister Stipendium, is a working journalist, art critic, lecturer at the Dolnoslaki Institute in Wroclaw and is the deputy manager for the Rita Baun art association.

Other events being held during Polish Cultural Week include a series of lectures and film screenings.

See: www.polishculturalweek.com

(BMcC)