Over Two Thousand Attended Pola Negri “Mania” Screenings
Five European capitals hosted the refurbished version of the 1918 silent film “Mania. The Story of a Cigarette Factory Worker” – Paris, Madrid, London, Kiev and Berlin – with over 2,000 people attending the film screenings starring Pola Negri, the Polish-born silent legend
“Mania. The Story of a Cigarette Factory Worker” is one of the first films ever made starring silent screen actress Barbara Apolonia Chałupiec, more commonly known by her screen name Pola Negri. Created in 1981 in Berlin Eugene Illes, the film was considered to be lost for decades until, in 2006, it was discovered in the Polish National Film Archives and reconstructed and digitalized using 4K technology that allowed the film to be returned to its original colouring.
“Why did we decide to show that specific film? Mainly because it was considered to be a lost work – no one in the world saw the film for several years. We are the owners of the only known copy,” says Tadeusz Kowalski, head of the National Film Archives.
The film toured Europe after it’s premiere on the 4th of September in Warsaw. It was screened, to live music played by the 10-person Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra from Wrocław, in Paris’ Le Balzac Cinema on the 12th of September. On the 29th of September “Mania” was screened in Cine Dore in Madrid, on the 13th of October at the Mołodist Film Festival in Kiev and, returning to its roots 90 years later, “Mania” was shown in Berlin in November.
According to Kowalski, the rerelease and European tour of “Mania” was an opportunity to present Poland’s technological capabilities as far as film restoration is concerned and it acted as a showcase of the country’s national cultural heritage.
“Mania. The Story of a Cigarette Factory Worker” tells the story of Mania Walkowska, an employee in a cigarette factory, and her love for the composer Hans van den Hof. It is one of Pola Negri’s first films.
The project was a part of the cultural programme for Poland’s 2011 EU Presidency.
For more on the film, visit the project's website.
Source: PAP
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