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 in the 1940s–70s. The selection brings together rare archival materials, many presented publicly for the first time. Highlights include home movies from the Rostenkowski family, that of Dan Rostenkowski, a prominent Chicago political figure and longtime U.S. Congressman representing the city, and a Loyola University Chicago alumnus. The Rostenkowski films, rediscovered in 2025 thanks to Marty Cook and Dan Pogorzelski, will be shown publicly for the first time. On Sunday, we will screen two Rostenkowski films, from 1938 and 1949.
A further highlight is 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 program also includes films from several other families, including materials preserved and shared by multiple Loyola University Chicago alumni.
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).
The Not-So-Ordinary program is paired with a screening of Paweł Maślona’s film Scarborn (Kos, 2023) (starting at 1PM), a speculative historical drama about Tadeusz Kościuszko’s return to Poland in 1794, where he prepares to organize an uprising against Russian forces. A striking and engaging film that offers a fresh, imaginative take on a key moment in Polish history.
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.
