{"id":3106,"date":"2025-04-23T16:13:52","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T22:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polishcanadianassociation.com\/en\/?page_id=3106"},"modified":"2025-05-27T21:19:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T03:19:55","slug":"2025-movie-before","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.polishcanadianassociation.com\/en\/2025-movie-before\/","title":{"rendered":"2025-Movie before"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Join us with events before and after official celebration<\/h1>\n

Our main celebration of Polish Canadian Heritage Day in Alberta will take place on June 8, 2025. Because this day is full of  attractions, we decided to organize two other very interesting events on another days. Details below.<\/p>\n

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  <\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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\n \"Michal \n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Book Talk<\/strong>  <\/p>\n

 Thursday, June 5, 2025 at 7:00 pm, in Polish Cultural Centre, Varsovia Room <\/strong><\/p>\n

Escape from Siberia, Escape from Memory, An Odyssey Across Two Oceans & Nine Countries to Arrival Home<\/p>\n

Author: Paul Wojdak<\/h2>\n

 <\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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\n \"Wojdak-Author\" \n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Escape from Siberia, Escape from Memory
AN ODYSSEY ACROSS TWO OCEANS &
NINE COUNTRIES TO ARRIVE HOME
<\/strong><\/p>\n

PAUL WOJDAK’S FATHER, PAWEL<\/strong>, was born in 1912 in Novosibirsk, Siberia. During the 1800s, many Polish people were banished to Siberia for rising against czarist Russia’s repressive policies aimed to destroy Polish language and culture, and they eventually lived in Siberia for generations. By the 1920s, war and chaos followed the Russian Revolution, and Poles were cast as “enemies of the people,” fleeing east as refugees. Most died from disease, starvation, cold, or violence, including Pawel’s parents, and many Polish children were tragically trapped in Siberia\u2014a seven-year-old Pawel among them.


Later in life, living in Canada with his wife and son, Pawel physically could not speak about his childhood and refused to speak about his life as a young adult, but his memories were sometimes triggered by chance events, leaving mysterious tidbits for his son, Paul. Why could his father sing the Japanese national anthem? How did he come to see a tractor as a young boy in the United States?
Inspired by his love for his father combined with a desire to understand Pawel’s complicated life, after his father’s death, Paul takes on the daunting task of trying to piece together his father’s past, determined to uncover the truth in the hopes of learning the story of a man who, despite all his hardships, was respectful, loyal, dedicated, and loving.
\"\"<\/a>Only knowing bits and pieces of his father’s childhood and knowing his father fought in World War II, Paul begins by connecting his father’s story with the stories of other Polish children and men in Siberia and Eastern Europe from 1917 to 1945. From there, he brings to light the remarkable story of the Polish Rescue Committee and their plight to rescue Polish children in Siberia after World War I and of the compassion of the Japanese people in harbouring these children. Following records of his father’s trail, he shares the incredible journey these children then took before finally arriving in Poland in late 1922, only to find their lives in upheaval again in 1939, when Poland was invaded by Russia and Germany.
Escape from Siberia, Escape from Memory<\/em> not only shares an extraordinary story of heroism and survival, but also explores the struggle to recapture and preserve cultural and personal memory and the impact of war on children and young adults.<\/p>\n

FriesenPress<\/strong><\/p><\/div>More <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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\n \"Memory \n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Documentary Film<\/p>\n

\u201cMemory is Our Homeland\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thursday June 12, 205 at 7:00 pm, Polish Cultural Centre, Combatants\u2019 Hall<\/strong><\/p>\n

Memory is Our Homeland is a documentary film charting the lost story of Polish refugees in Africa from 1942-52- a journey that brought a group of children through Siberia, Iran, India and East Africa, to new lives in Canada and across the global Polish diaspora.<\/p>\n

It follows the story of Kazia Kolodziej (n\u00e9e Gerech), the filmmaker\u2019s grandmother, and other Polish refugees, as they meditate on the meaning of memory, identity, and homeland. Grappling with memories of a traumatic exile in the Soviet Union, followed by an adolescence full of discovery in a Polish refugee camp near the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, we see how these women\u2019s lives have been shaped by early years fraught with insecurity and change.  <\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n

Memory Is Our Homeland and director Jonathan Kolodziej Durand<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jonathan Ko\u0142odziej Durand, a Montreal-based filmmaker born in Ottawa, was a student at McGill when he mentioned that his grandmother had been deported to the GULAG by the
Soviets and then spent several years in a refugee camp in Tanzania.\u00a0 His professor smiled, and said, \u201cThat never happened. There\u2019s no historical record of anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

History depends on who is writing it\u2014and who is interested in knowing it. Jonathan was deeply interested, spending nine years researching the circumstances of his grandmother\u2019s remarkable odyssey.

<\/strong><\/p>\n

The result is Memory Is Our Homeland,<\/em> a film shot on location in Belarus (prewar Poland), England, Canada, and in Tanzania. The film has been screened at festivals around the world, with Jonathan appearing in person in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Algeria, Poland, Russia, and across Ukraine. It has also been broadcast internationally by Al Jazeera and TVP Polonia.<\/p>\n

Thanks to events organized by the Polish Canadian Association of Calgary and the Polish Combatants in Canada, Branch # 18, Calgary to celebrate Polish Canadian Heritage Day in Alberta, Durand and his film are now coming to Edmonton at the Polish Hall (10960 104 Street NW) \u00a0on June 5 and Calgary at the Polish Canadian Cultural Centre (3015 15th<\/sup> Street NE) \u00a0on June 12. Both free screenings are at 7:00 pm.<\/p>\n

At once uniquely Polish and universally relevant, Memory is Our Homeland <\/em>tells the story of Soviet deportations of Poles to the cold, dark slave camps in the GULAG of subarctic Russia and then an incredible journey to the brilliant colours, warmth, and safety of a refugee camp in Tanzania.<\/p>\n

Jonathan\u2019s film is a tribute to his grandmother, a Canadian immigration story, and a powerful reminder that our stories must be told and shared.

Duran works in film and photography in Montreal. Driven by a passion for untold stories, he is currently making a documentary about civilian volunteers in Ukraine and in the process getting to know Ukraine and Ukrainians, and the ruthless eastern empire that has repeatedly tried to destroy them.<\/p>\n

Duran started volunteering in March 2022, helping with evacuation of refugees to Przemys\u0142, Poland ,a city near the border of Ukraine. From there, he started humanitarian deliveries further into Ukraine and, last February, he delivered a donated neonatal ambulance from Amsterdam to Kharkiv- an experience that reminded him of his grandmother\u2019s family, many of whom perished in the GULAG, including a baby born in 1940 who died just months later.<\/p>\n

It was an incident in Kharkiv in 2022 that cemented Jonathan\u2019s resolve to document the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine and the courage of the volunteers aiding the victims. Alongside Ukrainian colleagues, he visited a memorial near a mass grave that commemorates the 4,000 Polish officers murdered by the Soviets in 1940-a crime know as the Katyn Massacre. The site, then located close to the front lines, had been shelled by Russian artillery just days earlier. In Putin\u2019s empire, even the dead are not allowed to rest in peace.<\/p>\n

His work in Ukraine created for Jonathan a strong bond to Ukraine. He is please and proud that Poland has taken in a million Ukrainian refugees and strongly support Ukraine\u2019s fight for freedom. Back in Canada, he hopes that the Polish and Ukrainian communities will support one another as well, untied by their shared history of resistance against a common enemy.<\/p><\/div>More <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Join us with events before and after official celebration Our main celebration of Polish Canadian Heritage Day in Alberta will take place on June 8, 2025. Because this day is full of  attractions, we decided to organize two other very interesting events on another days. Details below.     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3106","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"builder_content":"

Join us with events before and after official celebration<\/h1>

Our main celebration of Polish Canadian Heritage Day in Alberta will take place on June 8, 2025. Because this day is full of  attractions, we decided to organize two other very interesting events on another days. Details below.<\/p>

 <\/p>

  <\/p>\n\"Michal\n

Book Talk<\/strong>  <\/p>

 Thursday, June 5, 2025 at 7:00 pm, in Polish Cultural Centre, Varsovia Room <\/strong><\/p>

Escape from Siberia, Escape from Memory, An Odyssey Across Two Oceans & Nine Countries to Arrival Home<\/p>

Author: Paul Wojdak<\/h2>

 <\/p>\n\"Wojdak-Author\"\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>

Escape from Siberia, Escape from Memory
AN ODYSSEY ACROSS TWO OCEANS &
NINE COUNTRIES TO ARRIVE HOME
<\/strong><\/p>

PAUL WOJDAK'S FATHER, PAWEL<\/strong>, was born in 1912 in Novosibirsk, Siberia. During the 1800s, many Polish people were banished to Siberia for rising against czarist Russia's repressive policies aimed to destroy Polish language and culture, and they eventually lived in Siberia for generations. By the 1920s, war and chaos followed the Russian Revolution, and Poles were cast as \"enemies of the people,\" fleeing east as refugees. Most died from disease, starvation, cold, or violence, including Pawel's parents, and many Polish children were tragically trapped in Siberia\u2014a seven-year-old Pawel among them.

Later in life, living in Canada with his wife and son, Pawel physically could not speak about his childhood and refused to speak about his life as a young adult, but his memories were sometimes triggered by chance events, leaving mysterious tidbits for his son, Paul. Why could his father sing the Japanese national anthem? How did he come to see a tractor as a young boy in the United States?
Inspired by his love for his father combined with a desire to understand Pawel's complicated life, after his father's death, Paul takes on the daunting task of trying to piece together his father's past, determined to uncover the truth in the hopes of learning the story of a man who, despite all his hardships, was respectful, loyal, dedicated, and loving.
\"\"<\/a>Only knowing bits and pieces of his father's childhood and knowing his father fought in World War II, Paul begins by connecting his father's story with the stories of other Polish children and men in Siberia and Eastern Europe from 1917 to 1945. From there, he brings to light the remarkable story of the Polish Rescue Committee and their plight to rescue Polish children in Siberia after World War I and of the compassion of the Japanese people in harbouring these children. Following records of his father's trail, he shares the incredible journey these children then took before finally arriving in Poland in late 1922, only to find their lives in upheaval again in 1939, when Poland was invaded by Russia and Germany.
Escape from Siberia, Escape from Memory<\/em> not only shares an extraordinary story of heroism and survival, but also explores the struggle to recapture and preserve cultural and personal memory and the impact of war on children and young adults.<\/p>

FriesenPress<\/strong><\/p>\n\"Memory\n

Documentary Film<\/p>

\u201cMemory is Our Homeland\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

Thursday June 12, 205 at 7:00 pm, Polish Cultural Centre, Combatants\u2019 Hall<\/strong><\/p>

Memory is Our Homeland is a documentary film charting the lost story of Polish refugees in Africa from 1942-52- a journey that brought a group of children through Siberia, Iran, India and East Africa, to new lives in Canada and across the global Polish diaspora.<\/p>

It follows the story of Kazia Kolodziej (n\u00e9e Gerech), the filmmaker\u2019s grandmother, and other Polish refugees, as they meditate on the meaning of memory, identity, and homeland. Grappling with memories of a traumatic exile in the Soviet Union, followed by an adolescence full of discovery in a Polish refugee camp near the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, we see how these women\u2019s lives have been shaped by early years fraught with insecurity and change.  <\/p>

 <\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/p>

Memory Is Our Homeland and director Jonathan Kolodziej Durand<\/strong><\/p>

Jonathan Ko\u0142odziej Durand, a Montreal-based filmmaker born in Ottawa, was a student at McGill when he mentioned that his grandmother had been deported to the GULAG by the
Soviets and then spent several years in a refugee camp in Tanzania.\u00a0 His professor smiled, and said, \u201cThat never happened. There\u2019s no historical record of anything like that.\u201d<\/p>

History depends on who is writing it\u2014and who is interested in knowing it. Jonathan was deeply interested, spending nine years researching the circumstances of his grandmother\u2019s remarkable odyssey.
<\/strong><\/p>

The result is Memory Is Our Homeland,<\/em> a film shot on location in Belarus (prewar Poland), England, Canada, and in Tanzania. The film has been screened at festivals around the world, with Jonathan appearing in person in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Algeria, Poland, Russia, and across Ukraine. It has also been broadcast internationally by Al Jazeera and TVP Polonia.<\/p>

Thanks to events organized by the Polish Canadian Association of Calgary and the Polish Combatants in Canada, Branch # 18, Calgary to celebrate Polish Canadian Heritage Day in Alberta, Durand and his film are now coming to Edmonton at the Polish Hall (10960 104 Street NW) \u00a0on June 5 and Calgary at the Polish Canadian Cultural Centre (3015 15th<\/sup> Street NE) \u00a0on June 12. Both free screenings are at 7:00 pm.<\/p>

At once uniquely Polish and universally relevant, Memory is Our Homeland <\/em>tells the story of Soviet deportations of Poles to the cold, dark slave camps in the GULAG of subarctic Russia and then an incredible journey to the brilliant colours, warmth, and safety of a refugee camp in Tanzania.<\/p>

Jonathan\u2019s film is a tribute to his grandmother, a Canadian immigration story, and a powerful reminder that our stories must be told and shared.

Duran works in film and photography in Montreal. Driven by a passion for untold stories, he is currently making a documentary about civilian volunteers in Ukraine and in the process getting to know Ukraine and Ukrainians, and the ruthless eastern empire that has repeatedly tried to destroy them.<\/p>

Duran started volunteering in March 2022, helping with evacuation of refugees to Przemys\u0142, Poland ,a city near the border of Ukraine. From there, he started humanitarian deliveries further into Ukraine and, last February, he delivered a donated neonatal ambulance from Amsterdam to Kharkiv- an experience that reminded him of his grandmother\u2019s family, many of whom perished in the GULAG, including a baby born in 1940 who died just months later.<\/p>

It was an incident in Kharkiv in 2022 that cemented Jonathan\u2019s resolve to document the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine and the courage of the volunteers aiding the victims. Alongside Ukrainian colleagues, he visited a memorial near a mass grave that commemorates the 4,000 Polish officers murdered by the Soviets in 1940-a crime know as the Katyn Massacre. The site, then located close to the front lines, had been shelled by Russian artillery just days earlier. In Putin\u2019s empire, even the dead are not allowed to rest in peace.<\/p>

His work in Ukraine created for Jonathan a strong bond to Ukraine. He is please and proud that Poland has taken in a million Ukrainian refugees and strongly support Ukraine\u2019s fight for freedom. Back in Canada, he hopes that the Polish and Ukrainian communities will support one another as well, untied by their shared history of resistance against a common enemy.<\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.polishcanadianassociation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.polishcanadianassociation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.polishcanadianassociation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.polishcanadianassociation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.polishcanadianassociation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3106"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.polishcanadianassociation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4366,"href":"https:\/\/www.polishcanadianassociation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3106\/revisions\/4366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.polishcanadianassociation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}