National Centre for Film Culture
| National Centre for Film Culture | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Cultural institution |
| Location | Łódź, Poland |
| Website | |
| ec1lodz | |
The National Centre for Film Culture (Narodowe Centrum Kultury Filmowejis, or NCKF) a cultural institution in Łódź, Poland, co-run by the City of Łódź and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.[1] NCKF is a cultural institution, museum, archive, conference centre and cinema at the same time. The mission of NCKF is to disseminate knowledge about film and to educate in the field of film and audiovisual culture. The permanent exhibition of the centre is the largest exhibition in Poland on national cinematography and presents 120 years of the history of Polish film.[2]
History
[edit]On 13 July 2015, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Małgorzata Omilanowska and the President of Łódź Hanna Zdanowska signed a letter of intent concerning the co-run of a cultural institution by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the City of Łódź.[1] The initiative was related to the city's rich achievements in the field of film art. On 30 September 2015, an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the City of Łódź regarding the establishment of the institution. In the same year, Rafał Syska became the director of the NCKF.[3] The institution was opened on October 13, 2023 in EC1 Łódź – City of Culture complex at 1/3 Targowa Street in Łódź.
Activities
[edit]As part of its activities to date, the National Centre for Film Culture has reconstructed Kazimierz Prószyński's biopleograph and recreated the first Polish feature film, Powrót Birbanta, and prepared Łódź's winning application to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Film.[4]
Exhibitions
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The NCKF headquarters hosts permanent exhibitions: "Kino Polonia" - presenting the history of Polish cinematography from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries to the present day. "The Matter of Cinema" – presenting the process of filmmaking; "Mechanical Eye" (in progress) – presenting the development of film techniques.
Kino Polonia
[edit]The "Kino Polonia" exhibition, opened in 2023, is the main permanent exhibition at the NCKF headquarters and is the largest exhibition in Poland devoted to the history of Polish cinema, covering over 120 years of the history of Polish cinematography. The exhibition occupies three floors of the NCKF building and 1,500 square meters.
The exhibition presents the development and achievements of Polish cinema through various means of expression, especially through audiovisual media. An integral part of the exhibition is multimedia materials: several dozen film projections, projections of fragments of television recordings and animations. Visitors have the opportunity to interactively learn about the history of Polish cinema using touchscreens, models, audio guides, graphics and a rich soundtrack.[5]
"Kino Polonia" presents a large number of films and artistic trends vital to Polish cinematography, including The Dybbuk, Eroica, Pharaoh and The Decalogue, Yiddish cinema, the Polish Film School, and the achievements of Polish animation.[6][7]
The architecture of the exhibition is dominated by black and white, which allows for the film screenings to be highlighted and makes them the focal points of the exhibition. The exhibition includes hundreds of objects related to the history of Polish cinematography, including film posters, cameras, projectors, costumes, props and production documents.
The Matter of Cinema
[edit]The exhibition presents the process of making a film. Visitors can take on the role of producers and, using several interactive stations, learn about the subsequent stages of work on film production, creating their own film[9]. Visitors start with production planning, then go through the budget, casting, work on the set, editing, sound and promotional activities. Visitors have access to a virtual assistant who explains concepts from the field of film and presents additional contexts.[5]
Cinema and film studios
[edit]The institution has three cinema halls, whose names refer to former cinemas in Łódź - "Odeon" with 169 seats and "Luna" and "Urania" (49 seats each). The cinema halls are equipped with a Dolby Surround 7.1 surround sound system. The largest hall has been equipped with 35 mm analog projectors. The cinema hosts film premieres with the participation of creators: producers, directors, scriptwriters and actors, as well as reviews and special screenings for groups, festival screenings, reviews and academies.[8] A two-level film library is planned. The machine hall of the EC1 building has been adapted for film premieres and festivals.
The NCKF building also houses a film education complex, within which there are sound, post-production, animation, television and special effects studios - practical film education workshops are held there.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Narodowe Centrum Kultury Filmowej | Kalejdoskop kulturalny regionu łódzkiego". www.e-kalejdoskop.pl. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
- ^ "Narodowe Centrum Kultury Filmowej w Łodzi otwarte. Wyjątkowe miejsce na filmowej mapie miasta [ZDJĘCIA + WIDEO] - Radio Łódź". radiolodz.pl (in Polish). 2023-10-12. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
- ^ Kaczyński, Łukasz (2015-11-27). "Rafał Syska szefem Narodowego Centrum Kultury Filmowej w Łodzi". Dziennik Łódzki (in Polish). Retrieved 2025-05-15.
- ^ "UNESCO city of film". lodz.travel. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
- ^ a b "Największa w kraju wystawa o polskim kinie w Narodowym Centrum Kultury Filmowej w Łodzi". dzieje.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2025-05-15.
- ^ "KINO POLONIA – a must to be seen - News | Lodz Film School". www.filmschool.lodz.pl. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
- ^ "Kino Polonia". ec1lodz.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2025-01-13. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
- ^ Marlicka, Monika (2023-12-28). "Otwarcie kina NCKF". ŁÓDŹ MIASTO FILMU UNESCO EC1 film kultura. Retrieved 2025-05-15.