Łódź

Israel Poznański Palace in Łódź. Fot. Jan Mehlich / Wikipedia

 

The Film Fund
Łódź was the first of Polish cities to launch a programme for supporting film production. The first competition for municipal support to film production was announced in 2007. For promoting Polish cinema and establishing the first regional film fund, the mayor of Łódź was awarded the Friend of Polish Cinema statuette of the Polish Film Institute. 25 film projects have already received funding including features like Stary człowiek i pies by Witold Leszczyński and Andrzej Kostenko, Spring 1941 by Uri Barbash, Jestem Twój by Mariusz Grzegorzek, Wymyk by Greg Zglinski, Hidden by Agnieszka Holland, animated films Miasto płynie by Balbina Bruszewska, Zuzanna by Daria Kopiec and Danny Boy by Marek Skrobecki and documentaries Kern by Grzegorz Królikiewicz and Nekropolis by Andrzej Czulda and Ślady by Robert Gliński.

Contact details
Urząd Miasta Łodzi
Wydział Kultury

Zespół ds. Filmu
90-004 Łódź,

ul. Piotrkowska 102

tel.+48 42 638 55 46,
+48 42 638 59 29
fax +48 42 638 55 21
office@lodzfilmcommission.com
www.lodzfilmcommission.com

Budget
The local authorities allocated 600,000 PLN (156,000 EUR) to supporting film production in 2007. In 2008, this amount was increased to 1 million PLN (260,000 EUR). The budget for 2009 was set at 1 million PLN. In 2010 the budget was set 700 000 PLN.

Entry Conditions
Financing is available for full-length feature, animation and documentary projects that are to be shot partially or entirely in Łódź and help contribute to the city’s positive image. Priority is given to projects of high artistic value and those intending to include Łódź landmarks, but also to projects that can help contribute to developing the film industry in Łódź. Beneficiaries are required to spend 150% of received funds in the city of Łódź, including 100% during the shooting period.

All applicants must have the required permits, know-how and experience, as well as a stable financial situation to enable the fulfillment of the project.

Application criteria include: artistic value of the script, ethical values of the project, cost estimate, percentage of municipal participation in the project and outline of expenditures in the city of Łódź.

Łódź
Located in central Poland, Łódź is the main town of the Łódzkie voivodship, but it is also known as the film capital of Poland. It was here that Zakazane piosenki, Poland’s first feature project after World War II, was shot in 1945.
Several years later the Łódź Film Studio saw the production of Przygoda na Mariensztacie – Poland’s first full-length feature shot in colour. By the end of the 1940s the National Film School was established – the school that would become the alma mater of Andrzej Wajda, Roman Polański, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Krzysztof Zanussi, Piotr Sobociński, Jerzy Wójcik, Sławomir Idziak and many others.

Łódź is also commonly known as the Polish Hollywood – the city is home to a number of annual film events. The most renowned among these is the PlusCamerimage International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography. A true ambassador of the film industry in Łódź is David Lynch – fascinated by the city’s architecture, he shot his Inland Empire there and now plans to make it the site of his own film studio. Finally, like any decent film capital, Łódź has its own Avenue of the Stars.

Landscape
Łódź is Poland’s fourth largest city. It is home to a total of 18 rivers and streams, the smallest of which are hidden in underground canals. Several parks can be found in Łódź, some dating back to the 19th century. The largest among them is the Piłsudski Park, covering an area of 172 hectares. It is home to Poland’s largest botanical gardens, a zoo, a theme park and nature preserve.

Landscape Parks
Wzniesienia Łódzkie Landscape Park
Źródliska Park
Piłsudski Park
Poniatowski Park
Staromiejski Park
Ocalałych Park
Sienkiewicza Park
Maja Park

The City and its Sites
Łódź is home to almost 1200 historical buildings. The entire city has a historical feeling to it, as it is Poland’s best-preserved example of a 19th-century industrial city. The oldest buildings in Łódź date back to the 18th century and include the Franciscan Monastery in Łagiewniki and the wooden Church of St. Joseph.

The most valued examples of relicts of the industrial Łódź include palaces, villas and townhouses built in neo-Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau styles. Łódź is home to nearly 100 such buildings, some of which have been reconstructed in the finest details. A perfect example of this is the Poznański Palace, also known as the Louvre of Łódź. Industrial architecture can best be seen in eclectic factories, weaving houses and residential areas, including the enormous complex known as Księży Młyn.

One of the city’s best-known areas is Piotrkowska street – at over 4 km in length, it is one of Europe’s longest walking streets. Today it is a shopping district, yet the townhouses that line both sides of the street are examples of modernist and eclectic architecture from the late 19th and early 20th century.

Recently a heritage park of wooden architecture was established in Łódź. It is home to five reconstructed weaving houses, a summerhouse and Evangelical church dating back to 1848.

Europe’s largest Jewish cemetery is also to be found in Łódź. Located at Bracka street and covering an area of 42 hectares, it is the site of 180,000 graves and 65,000 masebhas.

Museums and Heritage Parks

Art Museums

Art Museum in Łódź
90-734 Łódź, ul. Więckowskiego 36
tel. +48 42 633 97 90, fax +48 42 632 99 41
muzeum@msl.org.pl
www.muzeumsztuki.lodz.pl

Historical Museums

Łódź Historical Museum
91-065 Łódź, ul. Ogrodowa 15
tel. +48 42 654 00 82, +48 42 654 03 23, tel./fax +48 42 654 03 23
www.poznanskipalace.muzeum-lodz.pl

muzeum@poznanskipalace.muzeum-lodz.pl

Księży Młyn
90-338 Łódź, ul. Przędzalniana 72
tel. +48 42 674 96 98, fax +48 42 674 99 82
www.muzeumsztuki.lodz.pl

muzeum@msl.org.pl

Ethnographic Museums and Heritage Parks

Archeological and Ethnographic Museum
91-415 Łódź, ul. Plac Wolności 14
tel./fax +48 42 632 97 14
maie@maie.art.pl
www.maie.lodz.pl

Wooden Architecture Heritage Park
93-034 Łódź, ul. Piotrkowska 282
tel. +48 42 683 26 84-86, fax +48 42 684 33 55
ctmustex@muzeumwlokiennictwa.pl
www.muzeumwlokiennictwa.pl

Other

Museum of Cinema
90-312 Łódź, pl. Zwycięstwa 1
tel. +48 42 674 09 57, fax +48 42 674 90 06
muzeum@kinomuzeum.pl
www.kinomuzeum.pl

Museum of the Textile Industry
93-034 Łódź, ul. Piotrkowska 282
tel. +48 42 683 26 84-86, fax +48 42 684 33 55
ctmustex@muzeumwlokiennictwa.pl
www.muzeumwlokiennictwa.pl

Museum of Paper and the Printing Industry
90-924 Łódź, ul. Wólczańska 223
tel. +48 42 631 38 03, fax +48 42 631 38 01
inpapsek@p.lodz.pl
www.inpap.p.lodz.pl

Factory Museum
91-002 Łódź, ul. Drewnowska 58
tel. +48 42 664 92 93
muzeum@manufaktura.com
www.muzeum.manufaktura.com

Archives

National Archive in Łódź
91-415 Łódź, ul. Plac Wolności 1
tel. +48 42 632 62 01, fax +48 42 632 02 11
kancelaria@lodz.ap.gov.pl
www.lodz.ap.gov.pl

Local Authorities

Łódzkie Voivodship Marshal Office
90-051 Łódź, al. Piłsudskiego 8 
info@lodzkie.pl
www.lodzkie.pl