Shorts & Independents Part 4

This series of documentaries focuses of the Polish community of Seattle and the Washington state. All three of these movies were created in 2018 , spurred by the incoming celebrations of the centennial anniversary of the Polish Home Association (PHA), the most important Polish organization in Seattle and the state of Washington. For a hundred years now, PHA has owned and operated the Polish Home on the Capitol Hill. What started as the Polish Hall in 1918 is now the Polish Cultural Center Dom Polski; what has not changed is that it still is the center of Polish life in the Seattle area.

A Piece of Poland in Seattle / Kawałek Polski w Seattle
In Polish w/ English subtitles

This movie, commissioned by PHA, shows the Polish community through the eyes of the Polish director Monika Meleń. It has been shot during her visit to Seattle in April 2018. Footage of different events happening at that time illustrate the current cultural life of the community while interviews with PHA members show different ways and reasons for Poles to immigrate to the Seattle area. Through those stories the film illuminates the one hundred years long history of the Polish Home.

Bronka, Lady of the Mountain / Kobieta Skała
In Polish w/ English subtitles

This is the second documentary created by director Meleń during her visit in April 2018. The film shows a profile of Bronka Sundstrom, a 93 years old mountaineer guide who lives in a house near the Mt. Rainier National Park entrance. Ms. Sundstrom and her husband Ake were avid hikers and she has become a Mt. Rainier guide. Known to everybody on the mountain, in 2002 she became the oldest woman to summit Mr. Rainier at the age of 77. She is also a Polish Jew and a Holocaust survivor who clings to the Polish language till this day as the core of her Polish identity.

Passing the Torch: 100 Years of the Polish Home Association
In English

This movie has been produced by the PHA historical video and oral history project in 2017 & 2018. Based on dozens of interviews and a wealth of historical materials it shows the rich history of the Polish community through different eras and the role PHA and the Polish Home played as the anchor of Polish life in Seattle and the Washington state. It includes unique footage of Friends of Solidarity TV series aired on the Seattle public access channels in 1982-83. It also shows different achievements and initiatives that transformed the Polish Home from an ethnic fraternity into a vibrant cultural center presenting Polish culture and traditions to the general public of Seattle and the Pacific NW through its festivals and events.
This film has been supported by the Seattle Polish Foundation, the 4Culture Foundation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland & the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles.