Strona Filmoteki Narodowej

Exhibition

The Silent Movie Festival will be accompanied by an exhibition, conceived by the Museum of Cinematography and dedicated to the life and work of Pola Negri. The most exhaustive and rich exhibition ever to have explored the memory of the actress, the showcase was developed ten years ago in collaboration with numerous archives across the globe, private individuals, and institutions devoted to Negri’s work, and is undeniably the most complete showcase of the subject—both in terms of scope and substance.

The exhibition, biographical and retrospective in character, offers a comprehensive and richly detailed look at the personal and professional path of one of silent cinema’s greatest stars. The exhibition offers a profile of an incredibly popular actress, a genuine superstar of the silent film era who, despite successfully transitioning to sound film and pursuing a flourishing career in Hollywood, nevertheless remains mostly unknown to many people, particularly among the younger generations.

The exhibition was developed using items and resources hailing from Polish archives, libraries, and museums. Thanks to our partners from Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the United States, including Deutsche Kinemathek, Deutsches Filminstitut, Bundesarchiv, La Cinémathèque française, University of Southern California, Paramount Pictures, we’ve received archival material there were never available before to the general public and cinema enthusiasts in particular.

Pola Negri appeared in 63 films, out of which only 8 were Polish. The majority of her work was shot in Germany and the United States.

Never before have so many exhibits related to the life and work of Pola Negri been collected in one place.

The exhibition will be held April 19-22, 2018, at Kino Iluzjon at 50A Narbutta Street and at the FINA offices at 3/5 Wałbrzyska Street in the Służew neighborhood.

Exhibition curators: Krystyna Zamysłowska, Piotr Kulesza