APF: Beast | Miracle on the Vistula

Another meeting of the Polish Film Academy at the Student Cinema “Blue Blanket” in Toruń, realized in cooperation with the National Film Archive — Audiovisual Institute.

In the program:

The Beast, directed by Alexander Hertz,

Miracle on the Vistula — directed by Ryszard Bolesławski.

After the screening of the films, the lecture will be given by: Mariusz Guzek, PhD, professor at UKW

The meeting takes place as part of the first semester of the APF Plot “In Search of Identity. Polish Cinema until 1956”, dedicated to the development of cinema on Polish soil in the first half century of its existence — from pioneering productions to the first works of the Polish Film School.

The Polish Film Academy is a nationwide educational program of the National Film Archive — Audiovisual Institute, which disseminates knowledge about the history of Polish cinematography. Each meeting combines a film lecture with a film screening, allowing us to look at indigenous cinema through its creators, genres, themes and historical contexts.

In the academic year 2026/2027, Toruń for the first time joins the group of cities where the program of the Polish Film Academy is implemented.

The Beast (1917)

Directed by Aleksander Hertz

“The Beast” is a silent melodrama with Pola Negri in the lead role — one of the most interesting preserved traces of her Polish creative period. The protagonist of the film is Pola, a young woman who, after a conflict with her family, leaves home and begins an independent life in the city. Over time, she becomes a model, and then a cabaret dancer.

Her fate is intertwined with the story of two men - the former beloved Dimitri and the wealthy married industrialist Alexei. The seemingly classic story of a love triangle gradually leads to more and more dramatic consequences.

The film is also particularly important due to the presence of Pola Negri — an actress who in the following years made an international career in Germany and Hollywood. “The Beast” is the only fully preserved film with her participation made in Poland.

Miracle on the Vistula (1921)

Director: Ryszard Bolesławski

“Miracle on the Vistula” is a silent war and historical drama set in the years 1919-1920. The film presents the fate of the heroes against the backdrop of the Polish-Bolshevik war, leading the story from everyday life on the Borderlands to the events related to the Warsaw Battle.

Originally, the film consisted of two parts and was made with great pomp for the conditions of the time. The plot combines family, love and social themes with war events, showing how young Polish cinematography used the film to tell about historical experiences contemporary to the first viewers of this picture.

The cast includes, among others, Jadwiga Smosarska, Stefan Jaracz, Władysław Grabowski and Kazimierz Junosza-Stpowski. The film today allows us to look not only at the way history is presented in the cinema of the early 1920s, but also the language of Polish silent cinema at the stage of its intensive development.