Polish Cinema before World War II
The history of Polish cinema is almost as long as cinematography.
The first projection room in Poland was opened in Lodz in 1899 ; a couple of years after the invention of cinematography. The first Polish filmmaker was Kazimierz Proszynski who made a few documentaries about the city of Warsaw. He is one of the pioneers of Polish cinema and his photographic film was patented before the invention of the Lumière brothers.
The first Polish length film was shot in 1908, it is entitled “Antos for the First Time in Warsaw” by Antoni Fertner. By the way, he was mostly known for his comic roles in theater.
Thereafter, some Polish artists began to experiment other genres, like Ladislas Starewitch who created one of the first cartoon in the world in 1910.
Polish cinema crossed the border line during World War I. At that period, many movies made in Warsaw were projected in Berlin. It was the reason why the actress Pola Negri started to be very famous in silent cinema in Germany. At the end of World War I, the Polish enjoyed independence to which they had aspired for centuries.
At that time, the most notable productions were directed by Yiddishs filmmakers such as Joseph Green and Michal Waszynski, who depicted the happiness of the interwar in their movies “Jazz singer” (1939) and “Der Dibbuk” (1937).
Because of the Nazi occupation and the terrible devastation left by World War II, the Polish cinema fell into a ruin. Supported only by the Soviet government, Poland remained under communist influence after the war. With the support of film industry dedicated to state propaganda, directors like Aleksander Ford (a communist, member of the Red Army) produced films like “Five from Barska street” in 1954.
Zïna
France
Polish
Cinema
The history of Polish cinema is almost as long as cinematography.