Wajda film screenings

Andrzej Wajda, who passed away on the 9th of October, was Poland's leading filmmaker and one of the major figures in the post-war European cinema. His unique style influenced such directors as Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski, and Francis Ford Coppola. Wajda’s films have received the major prizes of the film industry, including an honorary Oscar in the year 2000. Wajda became known for drawing on Polish history and political subjects to create humanistic movies focusing on ordinary people's lives that were also, somehow, a political call to action. His last film, Afterimage, a tribute to avant-garde artist Wladyslaw Strzeminski was selected as the Polish entry for the 2017 Oscars in the category Best Foreign Language Film. 

To celebrate Andrzei Wajda's legacy, the Department of Russian & Slavonic Studies and the Department of Film Studies are screening four of Wajda's films, starting with Ashes and Diamonds on Thursday, 3 Nov 2016, in 2041B (Teatar M. Ui Chadhain) at 7pm. 

The remaining dates are:

17/11/2016, The Promised Land,  7pm, room 2043 (Arts Building). Introduced by Dr Aneta Stępień (Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies)

24/11/2016, Katyn, 7pm, Maxwell 5 (Hamilton building). Introduced by Dr Conor O’Kelly (Department of Film Studies)

01/12/2016, Wedding, 7pm, Room 2043 (Arts building). Introduced by Dr Piotr Sadowski (School of English)

Followed by discussion. All screenings are free, and all are welcome. 

Evening courses still enrolling

The evening courses at the Department are back this week. We have an exciting range of offers, from language courses in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Polish and Russian, to new lecture courses:

- Contemporary Czech Literature
- Contemporary Bulgarian, Croatian, Polish and Russian Cultures (4 five-week modules which can be taken separately or together)
- Contemporary Literature and Cinema in the European Southeast and the Question of Balkan Identity

For more information, see the Departmental website. It's not too late to enroll.

Slavonic pub nights resume 5th October 2016

Our by now traditional pub nights take place every second Wednesday during term time in Kennedy's Pub in Western Row near Lincoln Gate.

The dates for the first semester are:

• 5 Oct 2016
• 19 Oct 2016
• 2 Nov 2016
• 16 Nov 2016
• 30 Nov 2016
• 14 Dec 2016

Those for the second semester are:

• 25 Jan 2017
• 8 Feb 2017
• 22 Feb 2017
• 8 Mar 2017
• 22 Mar 2017
• 5 Apr 2017

Pub nights start around 8:30-9pm, usually on the ground floor level. The pub takes food orders until about 9:30.

So come along and meet the language assistants, old and new, evening and day students of the Department, during an evening of chats and stories (and maybe some scrabble) in whatever Slavonic language you speak. See you there!

Dublin Festival of Russian Culture 6-13 March 2016

The 2016 Dublin Festival of Russian Culture kicks off this Sunday, 6th March, with a concert of classical music at the Hugh Lane Gallery (12-13:30) and a public guided tour of the gallery which will be interpreted into Russian (14-15). This will be followed by a screening of Alexander Sokurov's 2002 Russian Ark (15-16).

The Department is again involved with two events:

Wednesday, 9th March, 7-9pm, Atrium (underneath the Dining hall): "Literary Sketches – Women. An evening of poetry and songs", with performances by students of the Department. Afterwards we'll repair to Kennedy's for our next pub night.

Friday, 11th March, 3-5pm, 5051 (Arts Building): Departmental Open Day.
Includes:
- Presentations by students about living and working/studying in Russia 

- A fun quiz on Russia
- A guided tour of Trinity in Russian

- An opportunity to find out about our courses, state testing and other activities we're involved in.

The complete programme is at the Festival site.

Gingerbread feast

A cordial invitation to join us for some - famous and extremely tasty - gingerbread and a cup of tea tomorrow, Wed, 27th Jan, 6pm, in 5051.

Gorodetskie Pryaniki are handmade, beautifully decorated gingerbread pieces or loaves. The tradition of making pryaniki goes back as far as the 9th c., when they were sweetened with honey and berries, while spices began to be added in the 12-13th centuries. Festive pryaniki were made on specially carved wooden boards. Lots of traditions and sayings involve pryaniki, and today they are a very popular treat served with tea or coffee. Traditionally produced pryaniki, like those from Gorodets and Tula, are also given as souvernirs.

We have a beautifully decorated pryanik from Gorodets to share - so join us tomorrow.

New courses and Central and East European film club starting at the Department

Happy New Year to all our readers!

We are pleased to announce that we are now enrolling for several new language and lecture courses starting the week of 18th January.

- Bulgarian language
- Czech language
- Introduction to Polish Culture
- The Golden Sixties and the Czech New Wave in Film

Schedules and application forms can be found on our website; please address enquiries to the Departmental Secretary, Nadia Browne.

But that's not all. As a new initiative, we are calling on all you film buffs to join us for our brand-new 

 Central and Eastern European film club

We will have weekly screenings of subtitled films from several of the countries studied in the Department. 

22 January 2016 Djulgerov Georgy, “Авантаж” [Advantazh], 1977

29 January 2016 Gardev Yavor, “Дзифт” [Zift], 2008

5 February 2016 Ryazanov Eldar, «Жестокий романс» [A Cruel Romance], 1984

12 February 2016 Kalatozov Mikhail, «Летят журавли» [The Cranes are Flying], 1957

19 February 2016 Ivanda Branko, “Lea i Darija” [Lea and Darija], 2011

26 February 2016 Aćimović Dejan, “Moram Spavat’ Andjele” [I have to sleep, my angel], 2008

11 March 2016 Kieślowski Krzysztof, “White”, 1993

1 April 2016 Pasikowski Władysław, “Pokłosie” [Aftermath], 2012

All screenings will take place at 6:00 pm in Room 5051 (the Departmental Seminar room) in the Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin. Free admission.