"The Maltese Falcon", dir. John Huston, 1941.

Film preceded by a lecture by Prof. Andrzej Krakowski (6.00 PM).

A classic film noir, starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor. Considered one of the best detective films of all time, it received three nominations to the Academy Awards. 

Drawing its aesthetic inspiration from German expressionism, noir cinema emerged as the result of deep changes in American society after the Second World War, reflecting the general aura of pessimism and ambivalence in the face of the rise of industrialization and the emancipation of women. 

The Maltese Falcon was made by the Warner Brothers film studio, one of the largest American dream factories, founded by four brothers – Harry (Hirsz), Albert (Aaron), Sam (Szmul) and Jack (Icchak), of whom the oldest was born in Krasnosielc, and the youngest already in America. Their only capital as they entered the film world came from the sale of their father’s gold watch and an old horse. A few years later, in 1927, they produced the first sound movie - The Jazz Singer with Al Johnson in the main role. 

Before the screening, Prof. Andrzej Krakowski will talk about the beginnings of the American film industry and the role played in it by Polish Jews. (6.00 PM)

Andrzej Krakowski has made over 50 films and television shows in the United States since 1968 as a director, screenwriter and producer, often taking up themes considered risky or unpopular in Hollywood. He is considered one of the precursors of blacksploitation films (“Final Comedown”) and films about the Holocaust (“Triumph of the Spirit”). Krakowski’s screenplays were used in 18 films, including the largest European production of the 90s (“Genghis Khan”) as well as the Polish box office hit (“Ogniem i mieczem”). Andrzej Krakowski is one of the founders of the highly esteemed School of Film and Media Studies at Purchase College, SUNY (5 student Oscars during the first eight years of operation). He has held a professor’s post at the City University of New York since 2003. In 2011, his book Pollywood. Jak stworzyliśmy Hollywood (Pollywood. How we Made Hollywood) was published by Polish Academic Publishers (PWN). The second part is due to appear in 2014.

Free entrance

"The Dark Side of Pollywood" film cycle

There would not have been a Hollywood without Polish Jews – directors, producers, actors, and composers. Siegmund Lubin, a native of Poznań, created the first mobile film projector, the Warner brothers from Krasnosielc founded one of the world’s largest film studios, which has since turned out hundreds of popular films. We will present the dark side of Pollywood – gangster films and films noirs which have become classics of world cinema. The cycle is accompanied by a lecture by Andrzej Krakowski, author of the book Pollywood.