Kino Polski

The journey is over, but the blogs continue!

The Polish Film Institute in Warsaw

Film is a vital part of Poland's culture. As a filmmaker and film educator, I was so excited to explore the rich history and continuing legacy of filmmaking in Poland. Although I didn't end up seeing all of the institutions and aspects of Polish cinema that I had hoped, I was inspired and reinvigorated by my "Kino" experiences in Poland. I was certainly aware of some of the history of Poland's involvement in the emergence of film, but as I prepared for my trip I learned just how extensive their role was. As part of the Russian Empire in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Poland was at the forefront of breakthroughs in film arts and technology. The first cinema in Poland opened in Lodz in 1899. Patents from Polish inventors and cinematographers predate those of the Lumiere brothers. Polish film history is completely parallel to the development of the film craft as a whole. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to learn more.

Fabular Film Studios in Wroclaw - check out those statues!

One of the elements of Poland's culture that was so amazing to me was just how integrated films arts are with the overall creative environment. There were sculptures honoring great filmmakers in Warsaw's beautiful Lazienki Park, film and video installations in all of the significant museums (whether they were cultural, art, or historical museums), and an overwhelming cinematic presence in daily life through posters, festivals and film venues. Some of the highlights for me were visiting the Museum of Kinematografii in Lodz and the Fabular Film Studio in Wroclaw. The Museum of Kinematografii is located in one of the many grand palaces we saw during our trip. It has a great collection of early through contemporary filmmaking equipment, posters, props, and other film paraphernalia. The Fabular Film Studio is located just outside of Centennial Hall in Wroclaw and has a regal presence in the town. The statues in front of the domed building give a real sense of the communist film spirit. My planned professional day at the studio didn't work out in the end, but it was still was wonderful to have a chance to see it. I was also supposed to spend some time at the legendary National Film School in Lodz. Boasting an alumni list including the best of Poland's filmmakers, from Andrzej Wajda and Roman Polanski to Krysztof Kieslowwski, the National Film School is a real treasure for Poland. Unfortunately, again, I my visit fell through - so I don't really have much first-hand knowledge of the school - but I hope to have a chance to visit sometime in the future!

 One of my favorite parts of being in Poland was all of the wonderful public art, street art, graffiti, and poster art in every city we visited. Film posters were everywhere and they were awesome. There were posters for current films around town on the streets, in bathroom stalls, and just about everywhere else you looked. There were also some pretty incredible film poster exhibitions at a couple of the museums we visited. The Museum of Kinematografii in Lodz had great old silent film posters featuring Pola Negri and other icons of the era, as well as a fantastic Marilyn Monroe exhibition featuring Polish versions of her film posters. Also, in one of several magical, mystery moments that occurred throughout Poland, our tour guide at the Museum of Warmia and Masury in Olsztyn - which mostly focused on Polish history and Copernicus - said, "Are you interested in Polish culture?" We all immediately replied, "Yes!" at which point he proceeded to take us up to an attic-type space that included two of my favorite exhibitions of the whole trip. One was a presentation of the work of a famous Polish artist, Edward Dwurnik - who I had never previously heard of but now LOVE. The other was a gallery of communist-era film posters that was absolutely incredible. In the attic! Oh, Poland - you're the best.

 

Another thing that was surprising to me was how many film festivals there are in Poland. It seemed like every time we arrived in a city I discovered that we had just missed - or would be leaving right before - their big film festival. I would regularly see posters for student and amateur film competitions, as well. Some of the bigger festivals in Poland (that I'm aware of) are the Krakow Film Festival, the Warsaw International Film Festival, the Gdynia Film Festival (which we missed by 2 days!) and the Torun Film Festival (or "Tofifest") which was, of course, beginning right after we left. Even if I didn't have a chance to participate in the festivals, it was really inspiring to see how much focus and energy is put towards celebrating film in Poland. 

Basically, film was everywhere in Poland and I loved it. There were big, multiplex cinemas all over the place - but even those had a different feel to them somehow. They seemed like they incorporated art into their mission, more than just commerce. (See the photo below for an example of what one of their lobbies was like.) We saw large groups of school children exiting movie theaters, just as we had seen them at museums and castles. Many of the young people we met said they learned English from watching movies. There were films - many American films - on television all the time. One thing that I found strange was the dubbing practice in Poland. Instead of replacing the audio track with a complete track of new voices, the original audio was just slightly lowered and a single voice seemed to be reading the dialogue in sync with the film. At first, I found this very annoying. I actually still find it annoying. However, I was speaking to a young man from the Olsztyn Rotaract about it and he pointed out that the "other" method of dubbing was really quite a bit worse. "Their way," you can still hear the original actors' voices and all of the diegetic sound - instead of "our way" wherein you lose half of the film experience as the audio is totally replaced. Anyway, we both agreed that subtitles are the obvious way to go. But I digress... back to my original point: Film in Poland rocked my world. Thanks for that.

Posted by Jessica