Press Release from The Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Polish Cultural Institute in New York

New York, January 4, 2010 -- Celebrating the 200th anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin’s birth, The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Polish Cultural Institute in New Yorkjoin forces to present a comprehensive series of films inspired by the life and art of the great Polish composer. Filmmakers around the world have explored Chopin’s legacy since the beginning of the film era. Ranging from drama to documentary and from animation to experiment, with rarely screened,  archival footage included as well, the films in this series reveal the cinema’s fascination with Chopin’s music and his dramatic biography, fraught as it was with illness, stormy love affairs, and exile from his homeland.

Romance in Light: Fryderyk Chopin and the Cinema is presented by The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Polish Cultural Institute in New York, in association with the Polish National Film Archive and National Polish Television. All films will be screened at the Walter Reade Theater, 165 W. 65th Street, New York City, between January 8th and May 8th, 2010. Six diverse programs will be presented, highlighted by the visually stunning The Blue Note by Andrzej Zulawski, starring Polish pianist Janusz Olejniczak and Sophie Marceau (May 8), and James Lapine’s Impromptu, starring Hugh Grant and Judy Davis (Jan 8 and 12); as well as a program of experimental films, including one of the world’s most innovative: The Orchestra by Academy Award winner Zbigniew Rybczynski (April10). The series launches with three programs in January. Detailed program follows.

March 1, 2010 will mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Fryderyk Chopin, the great Polish composer. Born in Zelazowa Wola, then the Russian partition of Poland, Chopin left his homeland in 1830, during the violently suppressed November Uprising, and would never return. He joined the Great Emigration of Poland’s cultural elite in Paris. Having refused to apply for his passport at the Russian embassy, he became an émigré without the right to return to Warsaw. He died in Paris in 1849 at the age of thirty-nine. Chopin’s musical sensibilities were shaped in Poland, and echoes of those formative years can be heard throughout virtually his entire oeuvre. Poland, and his yearning for it, nourished Chopin’s imagination and were the substance of his music. More on Fryderyk Chopin can be found on www.nifc.pl and www.chopin2010.pl.

In recognition of Chopin and his music, an astounding array of concerts, festivals, and other events will take place around the world. Throughout 2010, Warsaw, the City of Chopin, will offer occasions to hear the great composer’s most celebrated contemporary interpreters. These will include Anniversary Concerts (February 22-28) by Piotr Anderszewski, Daniel Barenboim, Rafal Blechacz, Kevin Kenner, Evgeny Kissin, Garrick Ohlsson, Janusz Olejniczak, Murray Perahia, and Ivo Pogorelich; and a Gala Concert on Chopin’s birthday (March 1), featuring Leif Ove Andsnes, Martha Argerich, Dang Thai Son, and Yundi Li. In August, Warsaw will be home to the Chopin and His Europe International Festival, with 50 concerts and over 1,000 performers, and as always will host the 16th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, October 2-23. For Chopin Year 2010 worldwide programming, please check updates at www.chopin2010.pl.

THE CHOPIN IN CINEMA SERIES AT THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER

The series opens with three programs of screenings in January 2010.

The Youth of Chopin and Calling Mr. Smith

Friday, January 8 at 2:00 PM and 6:30 PM; Sunday, January 10 at 3:00 PM