Our Stories, Our Voices
Justine Jablonska | January 18, 2012
Stories are like literary genetics, essential to one’s identity. But how does a storyteller rise above competing voices, break through non-stop background noise, and seduce an audience?
Welcome
I'm a multimedia journalist with a Master's of Science in Journalism at Medill | Northwestern University.
I write; I edit; I take photos; I shoot, edit and produce video; I web produce. And I love telling stories - of people, places, things.
This blog features my clips, videos and photos.Pages
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Polish Global Village Happy Hour
Justine Jablonska | January 18, 2012
Polish Happy Hour in DC has a community-building aspect to it but it’s an event without speeches. Co-founder Marcin Zmudzki, who also started the Polish Global Village mailing list, stresses the spontaneity and inclusiveness.
I attended on assignment – but am going back for the sheer pleasure of it.
Chatting with Chicago WTTW’s Dan Soles
Justine Jablonska | January 18, 2012
Chicago’s WTTW aired a number of Polish-themed programs during October for Polish-American Heritage Month.
The programs ranged from documentaries on famous 19th-century Polish actress Helena Modjeska and Irena Sendler – who as a member of the Żegota organization, rescued 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto – to travel programs on Kraków and Częstochowa, as well as a program on Polish Chicago.
I spoke with Dan Soles, WTTW’s Senior Vice President and Chief Television Content Officer, about these programs and Chicago’s Polish-American legacy.
Children in Exile: Recollections of Children Deported to the Soviet Gulag
Justine Jablonska | October 11, 2011
Chicago-based filmmaker Chris Swider discusses his award-winning documentary, and why he chose to focus on the youngest “enemies of the State.”
A library, a garden, and a reunion: Warsaw in May
Justine Jablonska | July 12, 2011
The rooftop garden of this stunning University of Warsaw library is not only beautiful but is also a symbol of Poland’s blossoming capital city – and of the resilience of Polish intellectual life.
Read this article at Cosmopolitan Review.
View the photo essay on the University of Warsaw Library on my Photography page.
The Arabian Horses of Poland: Once Again the Wellspring for the Greatest Arabian Horses in the World
Justine Jablonska | April 2, 2011
Horsefly Films’ new documentary, “Path to Glory,” will premiere in the US in April and in Poland in August. Here’s my interview with directors Jen Miller and Sophie Pegrum.
Independent Poland’s Baptism by Fire: The Battle of Warsaw, 1919-1920
Justine Jablonska | November 4, 2010
The battle that established Poland’s independence also stopped the Bolshevik advance into war-weary Europe. August 15, 1920 is a date to remember. So why did the Encyclopedia Britannica forget?
Get Thee to a Renaissance Faire
Justine Jablonska | November 4, 2010
Seven kilts.
Three pirates, one with a stuffed monkey on his shoulder.
Four velvet capes.
One Robin Hood.
Two top hats.
And 30 maidens.
That’s what I see in the first hour of Maryland’s 34th Annual Renaissance Festival. I also count three animal tails. “Prepare Thyself for Merriment,” reads the sign above the entrance.
Indeed.
Altgeld Gardens: A neighborhood at the edge
Justine Jablonska | July 8, 2010
Chicago’s notorious Cabrini Green and Robert Taylor housing projects have been demolished, but the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on Chicago’s far South Side is being renovated.
Built on a former garbage dump and surrounded by landfills, the community has one fast food restaurant, one convenient store and one currency exchange – that’s for about 3,500 residents.
This is where national media focused its attention after high school student Derrion Albert’s death six months ago at the hands of other students – some, residents of Altgeld. The media and its attention have moved on. Life for Altgeld Gardens residents continues – but in a way that’s vastly different than for most Chicago residents.
This is my project for Investigative Journalism class; it tells the story of two women: One who’s doing everything she can to get out of Altgeld, and another, who’s determined to stay. My report includes a photo slideshow with archival notes and historical information from the Chicago Housing Authority.
“The Officer’s Wife:” A conversation with Director Piotr Uzarowicz
Justine Jablonska | July 4, 2010
COSMOPOLITAN REVIEW – Piotr Uzarowicz’s grandfather was one of the nearly 22,000 Polish prisoners of war executed in the Katyn massacre of 1940.
Piotr recently completed “The Officer’s Wife,” a documentary about Katyn and the far-reaching effects the massacre – and its cover-up – had on the Uzarowicz family.
“The Officer’s Wife” previewed in May at the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York. I attended and spoke with Piotr about his film.