Girls from Nowolipek

Wandering through Polish cinema of the 1930s, it is worth stopping at Warsaw's Nowolipki. It was there that Bronka, Frank, Amelek and Kwiryn lived — the heroines of the high-profile film directed by Józef Lejtes.

The story of four friends from a Warsaw tenement house escapes classification as a melodrama, although it undoubtedly fulfills the assumptions of this classic genre. Raised in a poor neighbourhood, the girls struggle with the hardships of everyday life, emotional problems and the whirlwind of war that separates them from their loved ones. At the same time, each of them has hopes and dreams of a better life. Good-natured Bronka plans a future with her beloved legionary, sensitive Franka wants to become a poet, ambitious Amelka dreams of wealth, and practical Quiryna thinks about choosing a shopping path. Despite their differences of character, they are bound by a sisterhood that motivates them to support each other in the most difficult moments.

The girls from Nowolipek occupy a special place in the landscape of Polish cinema of the 1930s. When the screens were dominated by stories from the upper classes and comedies of mistakes, Lejtes directed the camera to the fate of the gray man. The film documents the hardships and sufferings of underprivileged inhabitants of Warsaw, thus acquiring the value of testimonies of its era. The marriage of cinema and literature played a significant role here — The Girls from Nowolipek were based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Pola Gojawiczyńska. The book, published in the mid-1930s, was enthusiastically received by critics and readers. The author, drawing on her own biography and the experiences of her peers, created a story under the sign of social realism. Its centre is a woman's destiny, marked by suffering and shaped by social conditions. Today, Gojawiczyńska is described as “the founding mother of today's women's creativity” (I. Iwasiów, Gender for the Middle-Aged. Lectures in Szczecin, Warsaw 2004). Importantly, the writer herself actively participated in the work on the screen, thanks to which the tone of social realism in the film was strengthened.

The girls from Nowolipek are also an invaluable record of the work of the entire film team, captured at the time of the heyday of Polish cinema of the 1930s. On the one hand, the film is the faces, voices and gestures of the title heroines. Their roles were played by three lovers — Elżbieta Barszczewska, Jadwiga Andrzejewska and Tamara Wiszniewska — and debutant Anna Jaraczówna (daughter of the legendary Stefan Jaracz). Next to them were acting icons of the older generation: the master of dramatic roles Kazimierz Junosza-Stpowski, the first comedian of the Second Polish Republic Mieczysława Ćwiklińska and the charismatic Stanisława Wysocka. On the other hand, there would be no Nowolipek Girls without people remaining off-screen. The director Józef Lejtes is still considered one of the most outstanding creators of pre-war cinema. He also created the script for the film in collaboration with Stanisław Urbanowicz, who in turn is associated primarily with his documentary activity. They are not the only creative duo working on Dziewczyty z Nowolipek. Two qualified and talented cinematographers — Seweryn Steinwurzel and Stanisław Lipiński — were responsible for the visual side. The musical setting was created by the esteemed composers' tandem Roman Palester and Marian Neuteich. The set design was the merit of the famous Jack Rotmil and Stefan Norris. Alfred Niemirski, one of the pioneers of Polish cinematography, took over the management of the production — already alone.

The result of the work of the entire film team was appreciated by interwar critics, and the premiere of Girls from Nowolipek was considered one of the most important cultural events of the era. The director's work, script, acting, scenery, photos and music were praised. Stefania Zahorska — chief reviewer of the influential weekly “Wiadiny Literackie”, considered to be the most important critical film voice of the interwar twentieth century, was not spared admiration. The girls from Nowolipek were even hailed as our “first artistic film” (“Świat” 1937, No. 45), unyielding to foreign productions. It is worth emphasizing that such enthusiasm of opinion-forming publicists towards domestic cinema was rare in the 1930s. Perhaps the phenomenon of Leites' film was best captured by Stefania Heymanova, who saw that its strength lay in the subject matter. Today it is still worth listening to the voice of the critic and looking at the film Nowolipek to experience “the realism of dark basements, a shabby yard, boiling pots and sawed wood in the workshop” (S. Heymanowa, From the life of the screen, “Bluszcz” 1937, no. 48).

Original title: Girls from Nowolipek
Country of production: Poland
Year of manufacture: 1937
Directed by: Józef Lejtes
Cast: Jadwiga Andrzejewska, Tadeusz Białoszczyński, Andrzej Szalawski, Mieczysława Ćwiklińska, Elżbieta Barszczewska, Tamara Wiszniewska, Stanisława Wysocka, Hanka Karwowska, Helena Buczyńska, Józef Karbowski, Kazimierz Pawłowski, Kazimierz Junosza-Stpowski, Anna Jaraczowna, Stefan Hnydziński, Janina Janecka, Włodzimierz Lozinski, Hanna Brzezinska
Duration: 101 min.

Hall: Stolica
Lecture and discussion after the screening - Andrzej Bukowiecki
Projection from 35 mm tape

“There is no film without a cinematographer,” Vilmos Zsigmond once said, an eminent cinematographer (as they say today: cinematographer). You can imagine a movie without scenery, music, actors, and therefore without costumes, ba! It was even shot without a director. But someone has to make the image be recorded with a camera. That person is the operator. Of course, its function has not been to press a button on the camera for a long time. This profession, although it has long been treated as a field exclusively of technology and craft, has for years been considered to be largely creative and artistic. Because cinema is mainly visual art, the cinematographer is considered one of the director's closest partners in creating screen worlds.

The lectures before the films will be given and discussions after the screenings will be led by Andrzej Bukowiecki.

Preparation of the review programme: Lidia Mikulska-Pawłowska, Andrzej Bukowiecki

Organizer of the review: National Film Archive — Audiovisual Institute (FINA)