Pre Launch information of forthcoming Art Exhibition

“Ruffians and Gentlemen”

Dublin, May 17th, 2012:

Polish Artist Iwona Nartowska O’Reilly forthcoming Exhibition of Mixed Media Encaustic Paintings will be launched on the 17th May 2012. Taking place in the Doorway Gallery, Dublin 2, Ireland, the evening will be opened by Ex Irish International and Leinster Rugby Player, Bernard Jackman.

The works on display are figurative depicting Rugby and GAA Hurling players. This latest series is mixed media encaustic and can be viewed at www.nartowska.com/sportsgallery.php.

She is currently rated as one of the leading encaustic painters in Ireland. “I discovered encaustic some years ago and its’ raw chunky appearance appealed hugely to me. Its robust quality suits my figurative painting as it adds certain raw boldness and energy to the picture.”

Having moved to Co. Carlow 12 years ago with her husband, Iwona grew up in rural Poland and would have trained at the Stanislaw Wyspianski School for Fine Arts, it was here that she first had the opportunity to focus on various techniques for painting the human body.

Now working with encaustic, a style that requires fast work and demands a quick decision process, this wax style provides a malleability and organic quality that can bring extra depth and life to the subject. Iwona says, “It forces a certain amount of respect from the artist, as more often than not, it takes shape of its own will. Its like the athlete portrayed; strong, fast and robust.”

Iwona is contactable for further comment on:

Email: iwona@nartowska.com
Tel: +353 86 836 0997
Iwona Nartowska O’Reilly

T: +353 86 836 0997
E: pr@nartowska.com
W: www.nartowska.com

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0512/1224315963621.html

Irish Times:

Irish sport tackled by Polish artist

MICHAEL PARSONS

FEW IRISH artists paint sporting subjects and those who do produce decidedly patchy results. But a Polish artist who has settled in Ireland is establishing a reputation for her paintings of hurlers and rugby players. Iwona Nartowska O’Reilly was born in Poland in 1974, graduated from the Stanislaw Wyspianski School for Fine Arts in Jaroslaw, where she drew inspiration “from the paintings and drawings of old masters”.

Now living in Co Carlow with her husband and two daughters, she said: “I was raised in rural Poland where physical prowess was very important and from early childhood I was observing physical labour in the fields and I was always drawn to figures and muscle tone. When I moved to Ireland, I was struck by the profound connection Irish people have with team sports. I have found inspiration from rugby and hurling in particular as aesthetically the body positioning in these games appeals to me greatly.”

The results can be seen in her selling exhibition Ruffians and Gentlemen (it’s unclear which are the hurlers, which the rugby men) which will be opened at the Doorway Gallery in Dublin’s South Frederick Street next Thursday evening by Bernard Jackman, a former professional rugby player for Leinster and Ireland.

The paintings include The Hook which depicts hurling, and is priced at €1,900, while rugby action titled Hanging On is €2,600.

He tells TheJournal.ie about his plans, and why he believes emigrants from all countries – including Ireland – should be able to vote back home.

I’VE BEEN IN Ireland since 2002, so a bit over nine years. My family is here; I met my fiancée in Ireland, though she is Lithuanian, and we live in Dublin. I’m running in the Polish elections this Sunday.

The results of the previous election showed that more people from abroad are voting in elections in Poland. So one party came up with this idea that they would allow Polish people abroad to run as candidates. In order, hopefully, that we don’t lose the Polish diaspora.

They contacted me, and I refused at first, but then I thought I might have some ideas on how to improve relationships between Poland and the Polish diaspora – people like me who went abroad, started from scratch, gained some experience and progressed. It’s about engaging Polish people abroad, making them interested in what’s happening in Poland. Because even if they stay in their new countries, in years to come they may be well placed in Ireland or the UK, in private business or big companies. They could help with Poland’s economy and trade.

Ireland is a great example of this, of the potential that people living in other countries have. The Irish who emigrated to the States came back with money, and brought companies to set up here in Ireland.

Voting from abroad very simple. You register online up to three days before the elections. So you go to the website, put in your passport number, your place of residence and some personal details – it takes five minutes. Then you pick your ballot point – so one would be the Polish embassy in Dublin, another would be in Galway, Cork, and I think Limerick. Three days later you go with your passport and vote.

Altogether there are 15 or 16 candidates outside Poland, but there are no others running in Ireland. My friends are helping with the campaign. I’m still in full-time employment so it’s basically weekends. I’ve given a couple of interviews to the Polish press in Ireland, I have a meeting in the Polish House, a meeting with Polish people in Cork; I have some leaflets which I’m leaving at Polish shops and churches, and I’m trying to talk to people. I also have a website, which shows my programmes for Polish migrants and infrastructure. These are the things I’d improve if I got a chance.

‘Emigrants influence the Polish economy’

Some people say that once you move away, you shouldn’t be interested in your home country. But this emigration from Poland is very new; it’s only the last six or seven years. Many people still have their families, their friends in Poland; I would hope that they would still wish Poland very well. And they know the problems that Poland has – because from a distance of 2000km, with the perspective of another country, you can see better what could be improved. So they should have someone, a candidate who can make that kind of difference.

I don’t agree with the idea that people who aren’t paying tax in Poland shouldn’t be able to vote in Poland. Emigrants travel home to Poland, they spend their money in Poland. If they decide to move back, they might bring savings with them, and then they will be investing in Poland. Ryanair flies to almost every city in Poland, it boosts the local economies, airports are growing. Plus our Irish friends are travelling to Krakow and Warsaw, and I would say that this is also because they know Polish people and they can ask us for a recommendation. Research also shows that we are sending money to support families at home. So we do have a big influence on the Polish economy. So it’s not like we have no right to vote.

I would say that Irish emigrants who hold Irish passports should also be eligible to vote at home. This would change politics, and I think it could make politics better. Because people in other countries can see the faults of their own homeland better; they can see ways of improving things.

If I was elected, I would hope to be in Ireland as often as possible. I’d like to have a clinic meeting in Ireland every two weeks, like Irish TDs have, an Irish phone number. One of the differences between the countries is that Polish politicians are not as approachable as Irish ones would be, so I’d like to try and change that.

Polish people abroad can vote, and they should. It doesn’t matter who they vote for .But as long as they do, they won’t be forgotten for the next four years.

Today is the deadline for Polish emigrants to register in Sunday’s elections. For more information about Sebastian Widel, check out his website (translated version here). As told to Michael Freeman.

Open meeting with Polish people living in Ireland will be held in Wynns Hotel, Lower
Abbey Street, Dublin 1 on next Sunday at 4 pm.
.

A Polish general election is scheduled for October 9th and, as well as discussing matters of
common interest with Michael Noonan, Jan Vincent-Rostowski will be using the opportunity
to meet members of the Polish community here and seek their votes. Polish citizens who live
abroad can vote in Polish elections and four years ago thousands of them registered to vote in
Dublin, queuing for many hours at station polls.
Jan Vincent-Rostowski is an economist by profession and was named Finance Minister of
the Year in 2009 by The Banker magazine. He was named European Finance Minister of the
Year in 2009 by The Banker magazine. He has published many academic papers on European
enlargement, monetary policy, currency policy and the transformation of post communist
economies. He supports Poland joining the Euro as soon as possible. He has acted as a senior
advisor to the banking industry, including the National Bank of Poland.

Biographical Note: Jan Vincent-Rostowski was born in 1951 to a Polish exile family in
London. He is an economist by profession who lectured at the University of Kingston in
London after graduating from the University of London and London School of Economics.
From 1988 to 1995 he worked for the School of Slavonic and East European Studies,
University of London and from 1992 to 1995 he also worked concurrently at the Centre for
Economic Performance, LSE.

During the early 1980s he was active in a London based Solidarity support group. He was

also a member of the British Conservative Party while living in England. From 1989 to 1991,
during Poland’s great economic transformation following the fall of communism, he was
an advisor to the Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Leszek Balcerowicz.
Vincent-Rostowski also advised the Russian Federation on macroeconomic policy.
He served two terms as Professor of Economics and as head of the Department of Economics
at the Central European University in Budapest from 1995 to 2000 and from 2005 to 2006.
During the interval he served as Polish Finance Minister, an post he now holds again.

Between 1997 and 2000, Vincent-Rostowski was also Chairman of the Macro-economic
Policy Committee at the Polish Ministry of Finance. He is one of the co-founders of the
Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE).
From 2002 to 2004 he was an Economic Advisor to the National Bank of Poland.
In 2004 Vincent-Rostowski was appointed Economic Advisor to Bank PEKAO SA. He left
this post in November 2007.

It was announced in the beginning of 2010 that he became member of Platforma Obywatelska
(eng. Civic Platform) two months earlier. The Civic Platform abbreviated to PO, is a centre-
right, liberal conservative political party in Poland. It has been the major coalition partner in
Poland’s government since the 2007 general election, with party leader Donald Tusk as Prime
Minister and Bronisław Komorowski as President. It is the largest party in the Sejm, with
204 seats, and the Senate, with 54 seats. Civic Platform is a member of the European People’s
Party (EPP)
Jan Rostowski is married with two children.
He is fluent in Polish, English, French, Russian and German.

Website: www.irishpolishsociety.ie
Irish Polish Society/Towarzystwo Irlandzko Polskie 20 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin2

HISTORY OF THE IRISH POLISH SOCIETY
The Irish Polish Society is a voluntary, non-profit-making and
non-political or- ganization. Its main aim is to foster Polish culture and
traditions in Ireland and to promote links between Irish and Polish
people.

The election of a Polish Pope inspired Poles in Dublin to form the Irish
Polish Society, and on 7th January 1979 the first steering committee of IPS
was set up. The Pope’s visit to Ireland (29th September – 1st October
1979) united us even more, and on 30th Septem- ber 1979 a historic meeting
between the Pope and His fellow countrymen took place in the Papal
Nunciature in Dublin.
After the imposition of Martial Law in Poland on 13th December 1981, the
Irish Polish Society began actively lobbying for democratic changes in
Poland. The Society also managed to organise substantial aid to Poland with
the help of their Irish friends. Some twenty containers with food,
medicines and clothes were shipped from Dublin to Poland.

The meetings and gatherings of Poles and their families and friends used to
take place in Milltown College, where the Society’s founder, Fr Klaus
Cieszynski, was then a student.
Thanks to a generous legacy from the estate of Wanda Petronella Brown, a
Polish lady who married an Irishman, a large Georgian building at 20
Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2, was purchased in 1986. This became the home of
the Irish Polish Society.

A new chapter in the development of Irish Polish relations began with the
collapse of the Communist system in Poland, and in 1991 the Irish Polish
Society established contacts with the newly open Embassy of the Polish
Republic in Ireland.

The purpose for which the Society is established is to promote greater
mutual interest and understanding between the Irish and Polish
communities through social and cultural activities and to promote, sponsor,
teach, study, advance and encourage interest in and knowledge of the
culture, history, peoples, language and traditions generally of Poland and
Polish people. The Society organizes lectures, concerts, art exhibitions,
literary events, discussions, social gatherings and other cultural,
educational and traditional events. Membership is open to all who live on
the island of Ireland and have an interest in Poland and Polish-Irish
relations.

In advance of EU enlargement we hosted several meetings and conferences
with politicians and well-known public figures, both Irish and Polish. Our
Society was absolutely committed to enlargement, and, in particular, to
Poland’s accession to the EU.

In 2004 the greatest shift in the relation between Ireland and Poland came
with the opening of the Irish labour market to Polish workers. Since then
IPS have been focused on how we should respond to the new situation. We
wish to increase our social and cultural activities to promote integration
of the new Poles through events and information.

Irish Polish Society is the only Polish organization in Ireland with full
EUWP membership (Europejska Unia Wspolnot Polonijnych – Union of Polish
Communities in Europe).

A committee elected annually runs the Society. A newsletter is sent to
members at least every 6 weeks. Membership is € 12 per annum , or € 17 per
family (students and unwaged € 10)

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM
(APLIKACJA CZŁONKOWSKA)

NAME: …………………………………………………………………..
(Imie i nazwisko)

ADDRESS:……………………………………………………………….
(Adres)

TELEPHONE NO: Home: ………………………. Work:……………………….
Mobile……………………….

Email: ………………………………..

Occupation: (zawód)……………………………………………..

I enclose yearly membership fee:

10 Euro – students and unwaged
12 Euro individual………………….
17 Euro family………………………

Annual subscriptions run from 1st September until the end of August the following year.

Cheques/Postal orders etc are payable to the Irish Polish Society.

Please send your subscription with completed application form to Hon. Treasurer:
Patrick Quigley, 21 Coolmine Court, Clonsilla, Dublin 15
Tel: 018205609, Mob: 085 7133106 Email: patquig2002@yahoo.com

See the film.
The current recession affecting most of Europe has reduced the inflow of immigrants. Many foreign workers are returning to their home countries as job opportunities decline and unemployment rises. Those who stay face a reduction of social benefits and in same cases discrimination.

Ireland is one of the European countries to be most affected by the economic crisis. The Celtic Tiger is sick with a banking sector that ruined the public finances through costly bailouts, while a the decade long construction boom came to an abrupt end. Immigrants are the worst affected, as they are more likely to lose their jobs than the Irish.

The Polish form still the biggest foreign community in the country with over 80.000 residents.

Kristof, introduces us to the Sobieski family which came to Dublin 5 years ago. Emil, a plumber, is now jobless, so he and his two children depend on her wife’s income. Bogumila works as nurse and wants to stay in Ireland despite the hard times.

In Ireland, legal immigrants who lose their jobs can get unemployment benefits to survive the downturn, as well as free training to recycle their skills and get a new job, but to come back to the labor market foreigners have now to face a fierce competition from Irish nationals.

With over 25 billion euros devoted to rescue the banking sector, the Irish state has an empty pocket and for social policies, so they will soon lack the funds to assist the unemployed, let alone the immigrants. The NGOs devoted to help immigrants in their integration to the Irish society are feeling the pinch.

Emilia Marchelewska, Advocacy Officer, said,“What we see now with every budget introduced here every year is that the amount of social welfare people are getting is lower, so we will see that the social benefits will be reduced.”

And what about the Chinese community? From the 50.000 Chinese residents in Ireland around 40% are preparing a come back to their mother land. The crisis hit their companies be it restaurants or import-export businesses.

Ziwen Qu, Business Consultant, said, Emilia Marchelewska, Health Advocacy Officer“We have difficulties to get financial support from the banks, that’s the most difficult problem. Also, they are not familiar with the laws and regulations in this country. Also the don’t have much network, contacts in this country, this also affects their sales network.”

Karen Birch, Ireland, said, “The immigration tide that arrived to Europe in the boom years has now become a trickle. With rampant unemployment everywhere and hostility to foreigners in some places, foreigners in search of a brighter future are now looking to the more promising emerging countries.”

Editor:Yang Jie |Source: CNTV.CN

Play Video

The Irish Polish Society Showcases Polish & Irish Art in Dublin

Some of the most interesting Eastern European Art comes to the Dublin art audience in the Irish Polish Society Annual Art Exhibition. Over the past years this event has become an exciting showcase for established Polish artists who choose to live and work in Ireland, often taking their inspiration from Ireland, exhibiting alongside their Irish contemporaries, Irish artists who have a connection with Poland. To be opened Dr. Martin Mansergh TD, Minister of State with Special responsibility for OPW and the Arts and supported by the Polish Embassy and the Polish Consulate, this promises to be an important opportunity for intercultural exchange.

The exhibition incorporates an eclectic mix of works on a wide variety of themes in ceramics, oils, acrylics, pastels and print. Artists exhibiting are Orla Kaminska, Roman Furgalski, Camilla Fanning, Ula Retzlaff, Marysia Harasimowez, Marta Wakula- Mac, Maciej Smolenski, Andrzej Mazur, Helena Johnston, Robert Zuraw, and Martin Reynolds.

There is a wide selection of sensibilities and aesthetic motivations on show. Artists include Andrzej Mazur of the Dublin Graphic Studio who says of his recent works “I transform manhole covers, sewers and grates into artistic streetscapes. They are ordinary common objects. We walk over them. We drive over them. Most of them are round. I found in them my perfect subject matter”.

Also, well known for her public commissions, is Orla Kominska who will be showing some of her hand formed & hand painted Ceramic pieces. Ula Retzlaff exhibits work which she says ‘reflects a beautifully fragile but resilient environment, momentarily frozen in time, layering and dissecting images layer by layer as fleeing memories are resurfacing and coming to a final standstill’.

Polish artist Roman Furgalski demonstrates his ‘Free Line Design’ technique developed over the last ten years and influenced by cognitive psychology. This has roots in Roman’s fascination with cave paintings. He says “Cave walls are full of crevices and indentations which in dim light bring visions of shapes, there are images in the chaos of randomly drawn lines. The process of discovering these images is intentional and conscious, the artist’s mind encounters a maze of lines and is forced to abandon preconceptions”.

Irish artist Camilla Fanning takes the inspiration for her etchings from the Irish landscape while exploring the notion of shared, and often inaccurate, memory. Currently she is working through a theme on shared remembered images of Irish landscape, each image a distillation of the essential qualities of place. Many of her images derive from drawings and research from Co Clare and Co Wicklow.

Founded in 1979 the Irish Polish Society is the main organization in Ireland for Polish people who want to learn about Ireland and Irish people who are interested in Poland. The IPS organises a busy programme of cultural events throughout the year and is always delighted to receive new members. (www.irishpolishsociety.ie)

The exhibition runs from September 7th to 25th in Polish House, 20 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin and is free to view and open daily.

Where: Polish House 20 Fitzwilliam Place Dublin
Dates: Tuesday 7th to Saturday 25th of September
Opening times: Mon – Thurs 11.30 — 6.00; Fri 11.30 — 9.00; Sat 4.00 -6.00; Sun 2.00 – 6.00

Contact details:
Marysia: Exhibition Curator Marysia Harasimowez
Email: marysiahz@gmail.com
Phone: 087 6853452

Camilla: Exhibition PR Camilla Fanning
Email cjfanning@cjfanning.com or info@irishetchings.com
Phone 087 6752430

Website http://irishpolishsociety.ie/

Images details:
Ula Retzlaff The Bog Oil
Andrjez Mazur Manhole Cover Mixed Media
Orla Kominska Studio Piece Ceramic
Roman Furgalski Defrosting Oil
Camilla Fanning Killeshin Drypoint

(please find images attached to email)

For images in hard copy or on CD, or for further information, please contact Marysia or Camilla

SUBMISSION FOR THE IRISH POLISH SOCIETY 2010 ART EXHIBITION (FOR PROFESSIONAL & EMERGING ARTISTS)
Date of Exhibition; 6th Sept – 25th Sept
Opening; 6th Sept, at 7.00 by Dr Martin Mansergh Minister for Arts TD
Hanging;- Sunday 5th Sept at 10.30
Opening times of Exhibition; Monday- Thurs 10.30 – 6.00 Friday10.30 – 9.00
(Also Sat & Sun p.m – when The House is open, details to follow)
Venue; Polish House 20 Fitzwilliam Place Dublin 2

Requirements;
• The Exhibition is Open to Irish Polish Society Members only.
(To join the Society send a cheque to IPS c/o Hon. Treasurer Deirdre Holland,
20 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2.
Annual Membership; – Individual E.12, Family E.17, Student & Unwaged E.10)
• All artists must commit to two – three ½ days supervision of the Exhibition, (a rota will be provided to select your times)
• The exhibition is open to Professional and Emerging artists. If you are selected then titles of work will need to be submitted via E mail by Fri 9th July
• Media; 2D Art form i.e. Paintings, Pastels, Pencil Drawings, Prints etc. 3D form – small scale Ceramics which must be hung i.e. Ceramic Plates. No photographs or installations.
• Please submit two photographs of your most recent work, at least one should be exhibited (photographs may be required for Press Release). Please give the following information on the reverse side of each photograph; your name, title, media used, dimensions of unframed work & work that will be exhibited.
• Exhibition space will allow for approximately 4-6 pieces of work. Exact details will be known mid June.
• Please type in a word document a very short resume about you & your art work, NOT MORE than 150-250 words. Please include information on your style, influences, media used, art background, exhibitions (also maybe required for catalogue & press release).
• Your personal details; name, address, telephone number, e – mail address.
• If you are selected then there will be a hanging fee of E. 20 (Euro) which will be made payable to “The Irish Polish Society” Also 15% commission from the sale of work will be taken. PLEASE DO NOT SEND A FEE NOW
• The committee reserves the right to refuse work which may not be suitable for this exhibition Closing date for submission Friday 2nd July 2010
•
• Check list;
Please forward;
a) Two photographs b) Artist’s resume c) Personal details
Please send to; c/o IPS Marysia Harasimowicz 218 Pace Road Littlepace Paddocks Dublin 15 Telephone 087 6853452

Flood victims require your help to get back to normal life.

Left with absolutely nothing they need basic supplies of food, clothing and cleaning products to get the chance to get back home and start restoring everything that was taken away by the flood.

Please help the victims by making a donation. It’s easy!
Forum Polonia together with Irish Red Cross are organising a Polish Flood Victims Appeal from the beginning of June.

CHARITY CONCERT – FRIDAY, JUNE 18TH, THE MEZZ

Everyone who would like to help can also join us at the charity concert POLONIA FOR FLOOD VICTIMS – Friday 18th of June, The Mezz/Think Tank club, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, 19:30. Entrance fee: 5 EUR

All money collected during the event will be transferred to Polish Red Cross and will be use in total to help this years flood victims.

Great Polish and Irish bands are expected on stage eg. Sunflower Seeds (www.myspace.com/sunflowerseedsband).

Raffle and art auction will be also held during the event.

The event is organised in cooperation with Polski Express Magazine and skaportal.org

The Polish Chaplaincy in Ireland is the official partner of our Appeal.

Collection of goods and money is available through one of the collection points. Collection point details and full list of products required are listed below in section “HOW YOU CAN HELP”

More information about the action is available here: www.forumpolonia.org, www.polskiexpress.ie, www.skaportal.org

You can also JOIN US ON FACEBOOK!

HOW CAN I HELP? IT IS EASY

1) Polish Red Cross is collecting donations

Polish Red Cross, Mokotowska 14, 00-561 Warsaw
Bank Millennium SA, ul.Stanisława Żaryna 2a, 02-593 Warszawa
IBAN PL93 1160 2202 0000 0001 6233 5614
SWIFT/BIC BIGBPLPWXXX
With the title: ‘Powódź 2010’

2) You can donate goods through Polish Chaplaincy in Ireland in cooperation with Caritas (details below)

Collection point in Dublin
The Polish Chaplaincy
St. Audoen’s Church, 14 High Street, Dublin 8
Contact: 087-2393235
Open every day from 10am to 6pm

Collection in Portlaoise

Location: SS Peter Paul Church

Date: Friday 11th June 2010

Time: 7pm – 8pm and 9pm – 10pm

Soon – collections in Carlow and Newbridge

You can also Make a donation (with the title FLOOD VICTIMS)
AIB Bank 7/12 Dame Street
Acc Name: St. Audoen Church (RC)
Sort Code: 93-1209
Acc No: 16694098

Donate goods:
garden tools, brushes, mops, cloths, dust pans, bin bags bedclothes, sleeping bags/ mattresses,towels, blankets, children & adult clothes, working clothes
wellingtons, rubber & tough gloves, sanitation products, soaps, washing powders, washing up liquids, paper towels, toilet roll, wipes, baby products, nappies
raincoats, rain poncho

Donate food:
jams, sugar, tea, coffee, tinned food

3) You can Make a donation (with the title FLOOD VICTIMS) through Polish Chaplaincy
AIB Bank 7/12 Dame Street
Acc Name: St. Audoen Church (RC)
Sort Code: 93-1209
Acc No: 16694098

4) Donation of goods will be held on the 18th of June, during the concert at Mezz Club and during events that are listed below

- Saturday, 12.06: POSK Dublin: Łukasz Klich concert (www.poskdublin.org)

- Saturday, 12.06: Cork: Hard Rock Concert. On stage: Psychopigs, Emigra,
The Edge of Existance (info: www.mycork.org)

- Saturday, 12.06: Family Festival organised by Polish School in Dublin SEN
(www.polskaszkolawdublinie.com)

- Sunday, 13.06: Irish-Polish Society: Chopin Piano Recital No.3
(www.irishpolishsociety.ie)

- Thursday, 17.06: Irish-Polish Society
A reading/Discussion with Dr. Desmond Fennell;

- Friday, 18.06: The Mezzo/Think Tank: POLONIA DLA POWODZIAN –
KONCERT CHARYTATYWNY (POLONIA FOR FLOOD VICTIMS –
CHARITY CONCERT) (info: www.polskiexpress.ie)

- Saturday, 19.06: Polish School in Blackrock: Festival for Families
(www.polskaszkola.org.pl)

- Saturday, 19.06: POSK: Short Films Review – Oddalenia 2010

- Friday 25.06, D-Light Studio, Dublin: Jazz Concert
(Info: www.dlightstudio.com)

- Saturday 26.06, POSK: Graffiti, Canvases, and Photos & Sounds – European
Urban Fest 2010

We would like to invite other organisations and groups to join us and support flood victims – are you planning to organise a concert, are you planning to organise donation? – Please get in touch with us!

Anna Pas is the main coordinator of the “Polonia for flood victims” event working on behalf of Forum Polonia. Should you require any further information or high res images, please contact her at: anna@polishexpress.net, Ph: 085 154 1454

Thank you for your support!

OFFICIAL SPONSORS: MEDICUS Medical Clinic, O2, EPS 24 Transport

PARTNERS: skaportal.org, Polski Ośrodek Społeczno-Kulturalny, Irish-Polish Society, 525studio.com, Korpusy Pokoju, Duszpasterstwo Polskie w Irlandii, Mad Art Studio, D-Light Studios, Stargaze Productions, Stowarzyszenie MyCork, Cogito-Polski Klub Toasmasters, Polska Szkola w Blackrock, Together-Razem, ArtPolonia…

MEDIA: Polski Express, nadajemy.ie, gazeta.ie, kierunekirlandia.eu, dublin24, ONET.EU, polonia.wp.pl, 120NaGodzinę, dublinek.net, Siwy Dym-DUBLIN CITY 103,2 FM, polskilimerick.com.pl, Polski Herald

THE WAY BACK

Directed by Peter Weir

Starring Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan, Mark Strong

Opening on December 26

Directed by six-time Academy Award® nominee Peter Weir, THE WAY BACK is an epic story of survival, solidarity and indomitable human will.
Under cover of a night time blizzard, seven prisoners caught up in Stalin’s Reign of Terror escape a Soviet Gulag in 1940. They are now free men and almost certainly, dead men… for their impending trek to safety defies any reasonable chance of success and the landscape they must cross is unforgiving. With little food or equipment, and no certainty of their location or intended direction, they embark on a journey that will present unimaginable hardship and drama. Driven by base animal instincts—survival and fear—while relying on evolved human traits—compassion and trust—the group endures transformative experiences that are profound and abysmal, anguished and ecstatic. All the while, they abide by one unceasing mandate: keep moving, keep moving, keep moving…
Shot in Bulgaria, Morocco and India, the film stars Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris and Colin Farrell. Academy Award® nominee Saoirse Ronan and Mark Strong co-star. The film is inspired by Slavomir Rawicz’s acclaimed book The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom, as well as first-person accounts and anecdotes gathered by Peter Weir and executive producer Keith Clarke.

THE WAY BACK opens at cinemas nationwide in the UK and Ireland on 26 December 2010

Running time: 133 minutes / Certificate: TBC / Images: www.picselect.com

Review of THE WAY BACK By Patrick Quigley:

It’s not a Polish film, but it’s the first big studio film about Poles in the Gulag and is important. The presence of two Irish actors is also an Irish-Polish event we should promote.

In the early 1950s a Polish cabinet maker in Nottingham revealed his life story to an English journalist. Slavomir Rawicz had been imprisoned as a Polish officer in Siberia during World War 2. He told of his escape with a group of fellow prisoners on a 6,000km trek to Mongolia and across the Himalayas to India. The story was published in book-form as The Long Walk in 1956 and was acclaimed as an epic of human endurance and survival. It is the basis for the Peter Weir film, The Way Back, starring Ed Harris, Saoirse Ronan and Colin Farrell.
‘Siberia is your prison,’ a jailer warns new arrivals at Camp 105 near the Arctic Circle in 1940. The savage conditions and remote location of the labour camp make escape almost impossible. Even if escapees manage to evade dogs, guards and hostile natives, they are thousands of kilometres from any safe place. Any escape could only end in starvation and death.
The Way Back is one of those films that can be enjoyed as a story of survival against almost impossible odds. The top-class performances from Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell and Saoirse Ronan are only surpassed by veteran Ed Harris as an American who came to Moscow to help build the Metro and ended up in prison.
Peter Weir directs with the experience of a lifetime in film since The Cars That Ate Paris and Picnic at Hanging Rock in 1975. He went on to direct classics that challenged conventional views of history and the media – Gallipoli (1981), The Year of Living Dangerously (1983), and The Truman Show (1998). In 2005 he directed Russell Crowe in Master and Commander.
The Way Back is not a mould-breaking work in the manner of some of his best films. The characters are one-dimensional and the story of escape and conflict against man and nature is straight-forward. The main insight into the characters is provided by Irena (Saoirse Ronan) when she asks Ed Harris: “don’t you talk to each other?” He responds with a grunt. When you’re battling against a vicious super-power and implacable nature there isn’t much space for psychological niceties.