Filmmakers Adrian Prawica and Rafał Muskała will preview and discuss their new documentary A Night on Milwaukee Ave. during the April 28 Annual Meeting of the Polish American Librarians Association at Loyola University Chicago. The film examines the music and history of what has been called “the most famous Polish neighborhood in America,” namely the rapidly changing “Jackowo” area of Chicago.
Prawica and Muskała received wide acclaim for their first documentary film The Fourth Partition, which was released in 2013 and aired on PBS stations in 2015. They were awarded the 2013 “Discovering Eye Award” at the 25th Annual Polish Film Festival in America and the 2015 “Creative Arts Prize” from Polish American Historical Association, among other honors.
The PALA Annual Meeting will also feature keynoter Marek Sroka of the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana speaking on the American Library Association’s role in the reconstruction of Polish library collections in the aftermath of World War II; a panel discussion with Professor Neal Pease, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and Professor Keely Stauter-Halsted, University of Illinois at Chicago, chaired by Professor Bozena McLees, Loyola University, on the 100th anniversary of Poland’s independence; and a tour of the Women and Leadership Archives and the Cudahy Library’s Dan Rostenkowski Collection. Registration is $25 and includes a Polish luncheon. Please RSVP online or by emailing palalib@gmail.com. You can also pay at the door, but please confirm so PALA can plan for the correct number of luncheon orders.
A Night on Milwaukee Ave. will premiere May 12 at the Copernicus Center in Chicago, and tickets to the screening will be available at the PALA meeting. Watch the trailer.