Red Penguins tells a story of capitalism and opportunism run amok – complete with gangsters, strippers and live bears serving beer on a hockey rink in Moscow. Shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the famed Red Army hockey team formed a joint venture that showed anything was possible in the new Russia. Eccentric marketing whiz, Steve Warshaw, is sent to Russia and tasked to transform team into the greatest show in Moscow. He takes the viewer on a bizarre journey highlighting a pivotal moment in U.S. Russian relations in a lawless era when oligarchs made their fortunes and multiple murders went unsolved. Director Gabe Polsky, 2019, Germany, Russia, USA, English, Russian (with English subtitles), 80 minutes
Glencoe, Illinois born Gabe Polsky wrote, directed, and produced the feature documentary Red Penguins which premiered to acclaim at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. Pete Hammond of Deadline called it, “a remarkable— and funny— documentary that seems ripe for entry into this year’s Oscar race”. Universal will release the film in the spring/summer of 2020.
In 2018 Polsky wrote, directed, and produced In Search of Greatness— a cinematic journey into the secrets of genius, as told through the greatest athletes of all time. It was released theatrically to critical acclaim and was nominated for several awards, including a WGA Award.
In 2017, Gabe Executive Produced Genius, the 10-time Emmy® nominated TV show on National Geographic about Albert Einstein. He and his brother Alan acquired the rights to the Albert Einstein Estate and the best-selling Walter Isaacson biography, which became the bedrock of the series.
In 2015, Polsky wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning documentary Red Army which was released by Sony Pictures Classics. Executive Produced by Jerry Weintraub and Werner Herzog, the film premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival to universal acclaim. The story chronicled the epic rise and fall of the Soviet Union, through its famed Red Army hockey team.
Polsky co-directed and produced The Motel Life, a feature film starring Emile Hirsch, Dakota Fanning, and Steven Dorff. The film won numerous international awards and was described by Indiewire as “a perfectly formed indie with a heart of gold.”
In 2016, The New Yorker commissioned Polsky to make a short documentary called “The Blimp-Maker”. Additional producing credits include: Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans which was named in over 40 top-ten lists of 2009 and His Way, an Emmy® nominated documentary released by HBO in 2011.
Monday, December 7
3:00pm EST | 2:00pm CST | Noon PST
Please watch the film in advance via Amazon
Registration
Please register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
