Polka Movie and Jam Session at Cinematheque

Joey Miskulin of Riders in the Sky, singer Cecilia Dolgan, and Canada's Polka King Walter Ostanek appear in Polka!

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Polka! The Movie, the documentary about Cleveland’s century-old love affair with Slovenian music and sausages, returns for a special screening at the Cleveland Cinematheque, Sunday, February 8, 2015, at 4:00 p.m.  Enjoy an accordion jam session at 3:30 p.m. hosted by the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum.  Joe Valencic, writer and narrator of the film, will share behind-the-scene stories. Key scenes were shot in Euclid's Polka Hall of Fame and the Collinwood and St. Clair-Superior neighborhoods.

Polka! The Movie traces how Cleveland-style polka music became a national sensation and is still enjoyed today across the country.  Joe, president of the Polka Hall of Fame, takes you through the Slovenian neighborhoods where the Cleveland-style sound was born a century ago.  The music got America dancing after World War II when Polka King Frank Yankovic (a long-time Euclid resident) scored million-selling hits. Vintage film clips and photos bring the polka past to life.

Polka! The Movie features performances and interviews ranging from legends like Joey Miskulin (Riders in the Sky), Walter Ostanek (Canada's Polka King), Euclid resident Richie Vadnal and Cecilia Dolgan, to younger musicians such as Kim Skovenski and Joey Tomsick. Cleveland personalities include Jan Jones, Tony Petkovsek, Bob Kravos, Bob Dolgan and the late Frank Yankovic Jr.  The camera captures scenes at the Polka Hall of Fame Awards Show; the Slovenian Sausage Festival; the Thanksgiving Polka Party Weekend at the Cleveland Downtown Marriott; Father Frank Perkovich’s Polka Mass at SNPJ Farm in Kirtland; Colinwood's Slovenian Workmen's Home; and Mitzi Jerman's hundred-year-old tavern on St. Clair Avenue.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer calls Polka! The Movie, “a film that will have you craving smoked sausage and stomping in the aisles.”  The Cleveland International Film Festival describes it as "a valentine to polka. Don't miss a beat; Polka! The Movie's a treat."  

The 3:30 p.m. accordion jam session will be led by Patty Candela and Joe Strukel. The 90-minute documentary is presented in Slovenian and English with subtitles in both languages. The film was directed by Dušan Moravec for Slovenian television.

The film screens in the Aitken Theater at the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11141 East Boulevard in University Circle. Admission $10; Cinematheque members and those age 25 & under $8; free adjacent parking. For more information call the Cleveland Cinematheque at (216) 421-7450 or visit www.cia.edu/cinematheque/, or contact the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum, 605 East 222nd Street in Euclid, (216) 261-FAME, www.PolkaFame.com.