Polka! The Movie

Year: 2010
Country: USA, SLOVENIA
Run Time: 90 minutes

This movie about music, sausages, and Slovenians in Cleveland was made for Slovenian TV. It's a valentine to polka, "the happiest sound around." Slovenians started coming to the U.S. as farmers in the 1860s, then helped build the new American industry. About 80,000 people of Slovenian descent now live in the Cleveland area. Cleveland-style polka, which contains elements of jazz and ragtime, was featured on Slovenian radio programs starting in the 1920s. Tony Petkovsek's radio broadcasts continued the tradition, bringing the music to later generations. Community treasures in the film include the Slovenian Workmen's Home, the Slovenian Museum and Archives, Mitzi Jerman's pub, and the Polka Hall of Fame. There's footage of many polka greats including Eddie Simms, the Vadnal brothers, Johnny Pecon, and Frankie Yankovic, who at the height of his fame competed against Duke Ellington in a popularity contest - and won. Sausage festivals and Father Frank Perkovich's Polka Mass round out the festivities. Don't miss a beat; POLKA!'s a treat. (In Slovenian with subtitles and English) –B.B.

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