Oxford University Polish Society

Magdalen Film Society invites you all to the screening of  “Sztuczki” (Tricks) –a film directed by Andrzej Jakimowski that won the Europa Cinemas prize at the Venice Film Festival. The movie is a delightful blend of sensitivity, intelligence, humor, and magical realism that transforms the simple truths of childhood into cinematic poetry.

Date: Friday, 16 Oct.

Time: 7.30 p.m.

Place: Magdalen College Auditorium

Entry: Magd Film Society members: free, PolSoc members: 2GBP, non-members: 3GBP.

We will provide some Polish goodies to nibble on.

About the movie: Stefek (Damian UI) is a bright and very observant six-year-old boy who lives with his teenage sister Elka (Ewelina Walendziak) and their mother (Iwona Fornalczyk) in a Polish village outside of Warsaw. Stefan has never seen his father (Tomasz Sapryk) who abandoned the family before he was born but thinks he recognizes him from a defaced picture in his wallet as the man boards a train each morning. The boy decides to bend fate to his will by using tricks in order to get closer to his father.

Trailer: “Sztuczki” international trailer

Start the term by making new friends at the Polish Society Pub night! We have booked a room on the first floor in “The Chequers” (131 High Street Oxford, OX1 4DH), and we hope to see you all there, both the old members and the freshers.

Date: Thursday, 15.10.2009

Start time: 7p.m

Look out for our stall at the Examination Schools during Freshers’ Fair 2009!

• Wednesday 7 October – 09:30 to 16:30
• Thursday 8 October – 09:00 to 16:00
• Friday 9 October – 09:00 to 16:00 (ReFreshers’ Fair)

Prof. Leszek Kołakowski’s funeral will take place in Warsaw next Wednesday(29.07.2009) at St. Martin’s Church in the old town, at 1pm.

In Oxford, a Requiem Mass will be held on Saturday, August 1st, at 9am at Holy Rood Church, Folly Bridge, Oxford OX1 4LD. The Mass will be in English, with some Latin and Polish readings.

All are welcome to attend and pay last respects to the deceased.

Oxford University Polish Society is deeply saddened by the death of Professor Leszek Kołakowski, an exceptional Polish philosopher and historian of ideas, described by Adam Michnik as “one of the most prominent creators of contemporary Polish culture”.

During his life in Oxford – he was a Senior Research Fellow at All Souls  College – he was very strongly involved in the development of the Polish Society. Older members still remember his seminar series “Spotkania z Mistrzem”, run with great passion and enthusiasm.

Professor Kołakowski died on the afternoon of July 17th. He has been our mentor and patron for many years – his death is a terrible loss to all of us.

We have uploaded photographs from last week’s conference (“Legacies and Prospects: Poland 1989, 20 Years On”). Check them out by clicking on the IMAGES tab above.

Title: Football Tournament
Location: Iffley Sport Center
Link out: Click here
Description:

Our team will be competing for one of the most prestigious trophies in Oxford. Come along, cheer up our players and enjoy the atmosphere of low-cost football . We’ll be starting around 9am, but the table of matches is not known yet, so we do not know exactly when we play our games.

Please bring along Polish flags, t-shirts etc would be greatly appreciated.

See you on Sunday on Iffley,

Jan Domanski

Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2009-05-31
End Time: 16:00

Title: Voting for Polish candidates in the upcoming EU elections
Location: Polish Embassy in London
Description:

The upcoming European elections will be held in Poland on Sunday, the 7^th of June (i.e. three days later then in the UK). Polish citizens living in the UK who wish to vote for Polish candidates to the European Parliament  (standing for election in the Warsaw electoral district) have to register before the 2^nd of June with one of 10 Polish electoral commissions that have been created in the UK. The registration process can be completed in a couple of minutes online: https://secure.e-konsulat.gov.pl/wybory/wybory/wyborKomisji.aspx

On the 7^th of June a group of PolSoc members will travel from Oxford to vote at the Polish Embassy in London. If you are interested in joining them please e-mail: ania.szmuksta@lincoln.ox.ac.uk.

If you are still undecided on whom to vote for we recommend you try a website matching voter and candidate preferences: www.glosuje.com.pl.

Date: 2009-06-07

Title: Conference: Poland 1989, 20 Years On.
Location: St. Anthony’s College
Link out: Click here
Description:

This year marks the Twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain, spurred by the Gdansk shipyard strikes in Poland, and sealed with bloodless ‘democratic’ revolutions across East-Central Europe. To celebrate the events of 1989 St. Antony’s College Oxford, The Oxford University Polish Society and the Centre for East-European Language Based Area Studies, with the support of the M. B. Grabowski Foundation and the Polish Embassy in London, is holding a high-profile one-day conference. This one-day event sets out to explore both the legacy of those transitional events, but also the present-day prospects for Poland, at a time when political stabilization is considered a given, but economic events follow a difficult and arguably less predictable path.

The conference is open to all interested, however, due to limited capacity please e-mail: filip.lachowski@nuffield.ox.ac.uk to book a place. Priority will be given to members of the University of Oxford. Otherwise places will be allocated on a first come first serve basis.

Organizers: Robert Pyrah and Filip Lachowski

Start Date: 2009-06-08
Start Time: 09:00
End Date: 2009-06-09
End Time: 22:00