Not-So-Ordinary Amateur Cinema

Screening with live music and discussion.

A unique program of amateur films and home movies created by Polish migrants and Polish American communities in Chicago. The selection brings together rare archival materials, many presented publicly for the first time.

The program includes, among others, the stunning Chicago 1972, a Super-8 film by Jerzy “George” Skwarek. Filmed shortly after his emigration from Poland, the film portrays Chicago—its skyscrapers and storefronts, expressways and streets, people and crowds, lake waves and city lights— through the attentive gaze of a newcomer discovering the city, alert to both scale and detail.

The screening will be preceded by an introduction and followed by a discussion with Agata Zborowska, who collected, preserved, digitized the films, and curated the program.

Silent films will be accompanied live by accordionist Marek Kalinowski.

This event will present an extended version of the sold-out screening at the Music Box Theatre. Read more about the original screening in the Dziennik Związkowy here.

When & where?

Sunday, April 26, 2026, 5:00pm

Damen Cinema at the Damen Student Center

Loyola University Chicago, Lake Shore Campus

6511 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago

More information and tickets:

Presented as part of the Loyola Polish Film Showcase (click here to secure your spot).

Proceeds from the event will support ongoing efforts to establish the Center for the Study of the Polish Diaspora at Loyola University Chicago.

Header image: film still from the DeBelina family film collection.