Over a thousand films in one place at the same time... The largest exhibition on Polish cinema has been opened at the National Centre for Film Culture in Łódź (NCKF). There, everyone will find their favourite title, hero or actor in films, stills, projections, posters, and sometimes in documents. From October 12, 2023, you can watch the first Polish feature film here. You’ll find out how Poles built the power of Hollywood, whether Marshal Józef Piłsudski liked funny films and whether Zbigniew Cybulski always wore dark glasses. "Kino Polonia" will also provide the answer as to whether Miś Uszatek had always had a floppy ear.

This exhibition is a breathtaking story about over 120 years of the Polish film industry - from its beginnings to the present day. From Kazimierz Prószyński, who constructed one of the first devices for recording moving images through to Aleksander Hertz who created the foundations of the film industry, through the 1930s, the war and socialist realism, to the Polish Film School and the Cinema of Moral Anxiety, to Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieślowski and Paweł Pawlikowski, whose works made Poland famous around the world.

On a journey through Polish cinema, viewers are accompanied by legendary directors, producers and screenwriters. The heroes of the exhibition are those who invented cinema and developed it with each subsequent discovery, as well as those who managed cinema - running large film studios or rural cinemas in community centres. The NCKF exhibition gives a voice to set designers and editors, film critics and historians, archivists and film club speakers. There is no shortage of artists for whom film was specificallya matter of avant-garde experiments, as well as amateur filmmakers who made thousands of works spending their last pennies out of their hearts and love for cinema. "Kino Polonia" talks about films and phenomena that will forever remain part of our culture: "The Dybbuk", "Eroica", "Pharaoh" and "Decalogue", about the world-famous Yiddish cinema and the Polish Film School which received awards at festivals, about the impressive achievements of animated film creators and the currently flourishing series on VOD platforms.

On three floors and 1,500 square meters, there are hundreds of items from the history of Polish cinema: posters, cameras, projectors, costumes, props and production documents. An extraordinary set of souvenirs has been collected, a huge number of films obtained, and dozens of video essays, film collages and mappings created. Thanks to the efforts of the NCKF, the oldest device for displaying moving images called the biopleograph has been reconstructed, 100 iconic costumes from famous Polish films purchased and renovated, and in the display cases, apart from the most valuable awards for Polish filmmakers, there are also adorable puppets of Miś Uszatek, who sent children to sleep for several generations.

“We do not avoid presentation forms classic for film museums, but rather our goal is an audiovisual spectacle,” says Rafał Syska, director of the National Centre for Film Culture in Łódź. “Here, film manifests itself in large-format projections, in clips displayed on monitors and in interactive educational stations. It is not replaced by a display of wall prints and display cases filled with souvenirs in the form of fake moustaches and Oscar statuettes. Two colours dominate the exhibition: white and black - meaning that the films displayed on membranes, walls and TV screens take on great importance.

5 hours of audiovisual material, 5 unique multimedia installations, 50 film screenings, 50 interactive stations, and 500 square meters of large-format prints have been prepared. Interactive stations, touch screens, models, graphics and a rich audio sphere help visitors on their journey through the history of Polish cinema.

"Kino Polonia" is one of the largest exhibition projects in recent years. It is not so much an exhibition as an audiovisual spectacle, inviting visitors of all ages.

“Nowhere in the world has there been an exhibition devoted to one national cinema on such a scale as at NCKF, presenting the oldest and newest cinema, feature films, documentaries and animated films, artistic works and commercial hits in equal proportions,” emphasizes director Rafał Syska.

The exhibition, which refers to the audiovisual identity of Łódź (the heritage of the Film School, the Feature Film Studio, and the Film Museum), is located at the headquarters of the National Centre for Film Culture at 1/3, Targowa Street in Łódź. NCKF is a specialized branch of "EC1 Łódź - City of Culture", one of the most important institutions in Łódź. In addition to the NCKF, there are here: the Science and Technology Centre (within which operate: the "Street of the Elements" Children's Zone and the Planetarium) and the Comic Book and Interactive Narrative Centre (where the heritage of Polish comics and video games is disseminated).

The NCKF building with a glass, unusual façade is located right next to Łódź Fabryczna station, creating together with it and the EC1 complex the New Centre of Łódź. This building (the EC1 East building) is one of the most frequently photographed buildings in the city celebrating its 600th anniversary this year. It has become a symbol of modern architecture and evidence of the successful revitalization of the post-industrial part of the city, the facilities of the former Łódź heat and power plant.

The centre was established in 2015. It is co-led by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the City of Łódź. It has been headed from the very start by Rafał Syska, PhD, Yagiellonian University professor, and author of the NCKF concept.

NCKF website: nckf.pl