Wojtek Kosc

The 41st Jazz Jamboree Festival finished on Sunday 25 October. The festival presented a host of young and lesser-known musicians, contrary to the event’s recent policy of inviting costly superstars. The Polish scene was represented by the Yass Big Band and Wojciech Staroniewicz. Among foreign artists, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Jean-Luc Ponty received standing ovations.

Jerzy Hoffman's film Ogniem i mieczem (With Fire and Sword) was released in Ukraine and was enthusiastically welcomed although there were concerns that it would prove controversial, or even scandalous, for the Ukrainian audience. The film tells a love story set during the 17th century war between Poland and Ukraine, hence the grounds for controversy (for more details see Kinoeye's article here).

Dlug (Debt), a film by Krzysztof Krauze, was awarded the first prize at Gdynia Film Festival.

Maria Stangret's paintings are exhibited in Cracow from 26 October to 26 November. Information: 0048 12 656 43 17, 656 49 13.

A festival of ancient songs finished in Lublin on 30 October. The festival, organized by Muzyka Kresow Foundation (Borderland Music Foundation) gathered ancient song performers from Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia.

During its first screening weekend, Andrzej Wajda's Pan Tadeusz was seen by 420,000 people, setting a new Polish cinema record. A full review of Pan Tadeusz will appear in issue #21 of CER on Monday 15 November.

The 50th birthday of Stasys Eidrigievicius, a Lithuanian-born, painter, poster-maker and book illustrator, is being celebrated at an exhibition of his works in Krakow. The exhibition, called Stasys 50 is open until 30 November.

As this year's Frankfurt Book Festival finished (with Hungary as the guest country), Poland is preparing for the next year's, at which it will be the honorary guest. Meanwhile, Polityka weekly has revealed plans of how Polish publishing industry is to present itself next year. Michal Cichy's has the idea to show Poland not only through its "national" culture, but also through its multicultural (German, Jewish, Ukrainian) heritage.

Wojtek Kosc, 1 November 1999