Film Polski (also Przedsiębiorstwo Państwowe Film Polski) was the state-run film production and distribution organization of Poland, founded in 1945.

History

On November 13, 1945, the postwar communist government decreed the formation of Polski Film as a national enterprise. Organized under the Minister of Culture Władysław Kowalski, Polski Film had control over both domestic film production and distribution of all foreign films. In the first years there was still room for smaller production companies, notably Yiddish-language.

Aleksander Ford Aleksander Ford (born Mosze Lifszyc; 24 November 1908 in Kiev, Russian Empire – 4 April 1980 in Naples, Florida, United States, U.S.) was a Polish film director and head of the Polish People's Army of Poland, People's Army Film Crew in the Sov ...

served as Film Polski's first director from 1945 to 1947. As

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

noted in his autobiography, Ford was both an "extremely competent" manager and "a veteran party member, who was then an orthodox Stalinist. ...The real power broker during the immediate postwar period was Ford himself, who established a small film empire of his own." With colleagues from the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party (, ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other legally permitted subordinate minor parti ...

, Ford rebuilt the film production infrastructure, a national studio, and the National Film School in Łódź, which opened in 1948. Ford taught at Łódź for twenty years. Poland's first postwar feature was Leonard Buczkowski's musical of the German occupation, '' Zakazane piosenki'' (''Forbidden Songs''). First released in January 1947 and very popular, in 1948 the film was re-edited and re-released, with more emphasis on

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

's role as the ''liberator'' of Poland and the main ally of post-war Polish

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

regime, as well as a more grim view of the German occupation of Warsaw and German brutality in general. Jerzy Zarzycki's '' Unvanquished City'' was similarly re-edited to become more ideologically acceptable. Film Polski was dissolved as of January 1, 1952, succeeded by the Centralny Urząd Kinematografii (Central Office of Cinematography). In its important but brief history it released a total of thirteen feature films,Marek Haltof (2002). Polish national cinema. Berghahn Books. pp. 49 along with dozens of short films and documentaries.

Productions

Film Polski's output includes: * ''Ostatni etap'' ('' The Last Stage''), 1947, directed by

Wanda Jakubowska Wanda Jakubowska (10 November 1907 – 25 February 1998) was a Polish film director. Although she directed as many as 15 films over 50 years, Jakubowska is best known for her work on the Holocaust. Her 1948 film '' The Last Stage'' was an early a ...

* '' Zakazane piosenki'' (''Forbidden Songs''), 1948, directed by Leonard Buczkowski * ''Ulica Graniczna'' (''

Border Street ''Border Street'' () is a 1948 Polish drama film directed by Aleksander Ford and starring Mieczysława Ćwiklińska, Jerzy Leszczyński (actor), Jerzy Leszczyński, Jerzy Złotnicki and Władysław Godik. The film depicts the Nazis' purge of Warsa ...

''), 1948, directed by Ford * ''Skarb'', 1949, directed by Leonard Buczkowski * ''Robinson warszawski'' ('' Unvanquished City''), 1950, directed by Jerzy Zarzycki * ''Warszawska premiera'' ('' Warsaw Premiere''), 1951, directed by Jan Rybkowski * ''Mlodosc Chopin'' ('' Youth of Chopin''), 1951, directed by Ford

References

{{Authority control State-owned film companies Mass media companies established in 1945 1945 establishments in Poland Film distributors of Poland Film production companies of Poland