Warsaw in the frame. About the screenings of “The Doll” by Bolesław Prus | Seminarium warskie

In the consciousness of generations of Poles, Bolesław Prus somehow furnished Warsaw in the second half of the 19th century with a doll. The arch-novel — read as a school reading, intensively experienced by lovers of the capital, cut into small pieces in the tourist and guide dimension, analyzed with passion by literary scholars — is perhaps one of the last denominators common to the increasingly different generations of the capital's inhabitants. Everyone reads their own Warsaw on the Lalki cards. Additional light on these different Warsaws is directed by successive screenings of Prusa's novels: in a film edition directed by Wojciech Jerzy Has (1968), later a serial directed by Ryszard Ber (1977), and more recently — again in a film version directed by Maciej Kawalski (2026) and again in a series directed by Paweł Maślona (2026). Nor should we forget the theatrical adaptations and interpretations embedded in yet other artistic discourses...

Should fidelity to the literary prototype be a priority within these productions or arrangements? What was Warsaw like in the “times of Izabella Łęcka and Stanisław Wokulski” — and is there anything left of that city at all? How were they dressed then? Would (and which) Doll transferred to the screen would Bolesław Prussia like? Do and how do the film adaptations of his work enrich our knowledge of Warsaw? We will try to answer these and other questions during the discussion.



THE FOLLOWING WILL BE ATTENDED BY:

Marta Galik — a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, by profession a clothing designer, by passion — a designer of headwear. Her entire professional life so far works and creates in the field of fine arts, the world of fashion and artistic crafts. Over the years, she managed to be an assistant in the drawing and painting studio of her native university, conduct teaching classes, be a clothing designer, a curator and arranger of exhibitions, a curator of a fashion collection in one of the museums, and also engage in magazine drawing. She embarked on an adventure with broadly understood artistic fashioning and experiments in this field during her studies. Years later, it was the case that made her take it seriously. She has been in the profession for 15 years under the Galique brand, implementing projects for the needs of theater, film, series, advertising, photo shoots, as well as fashion shows. It has its own collections of headwear dedicated to other designers, which were presented under the brand's banner during the most prestigious industry events in the country, such as Fashionphilosophy Fashion Week Poland, Złota Nikola, Mercedes Benz Fashion Weekend or KTW Fashion Week. She describes herself as a headwear designer who had enough ambition to learn the craft. He hates being called a fashionista. He treats the work quite experimentally. In action, he likes to create something out of nothing. Until the last film screening of Lalki, she made 78 hats.

Aneta Kyzioł — studied Theatre Knowledge at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw and postgraduate journalism at the University of Warsaw. She has published in the industry theater press. Since 2004 she has been working in the weekly “Polityka”, where she writes mainly about theater and television, is the deputy head of the cultural department, co-edited the section “People and Styles”. She also appears among critics of TVP's “Tygodnik Kulturalny”.

Bartłomiej Makowski — journalist of Polish Radio. He hosts the podcast “The Truth of Time and the Truth of the Screen”, in which he analyzes historical films and series for their compatibility with the realities of the eras. He writes articles on historical topics that appear on the Polkieradio24.pl portal. Co-author of acclaimed webdocs, including those devoted to the history of Poland and Warsaw seen through the prism of the history of the Saxon Palace. Until recently, producer and documentary producer of podcasts, including Heweliusz. True story. Nominated for the “Radio Oscar” — Prix Italia and the Prix Europa, twice nominated for the “Podcast of the Year” award, winner of the silver “Hero ON”. Juror of international industry competitions. Graduate of Journalism and Media Studies at the University of Warsaw.

Igor Piotrowski, PhD — Assistant Professor at the Department of Cultural History of the University of Warsaw, co-founder and since 2017 head of the Urban Studies Laboratory at the Institute of Polish Culture of the University of Warsaw. Juror of Polish language competitions, since 2016 member of the Main Committee of the Polish Language Olympiad (since 2021 in the Presidium of KG). Since 2025, member of the Council of the National Program for the Development of the Humanities. Chairman of the Library Committee of the Council of the Faculty of Polish Studies from 2016 to 2024, member of the Council of the same Faculty since 2020. He deals with the history of Polish culture, various dimensions of the space of Warsaw, cultural contexts of cartography and the cultural image of insects, the work of Miron Białoszewski (since 2017 he is a member of the Council of Friends of the Miron Białoszewski Foundation) and Jędrzej Kitowicz. Author of the book: Chłodna. The Greatness and Oblivion of Warsaw Street in the Light of Fine Literature, Memories and Photography... (2007), Song and Power. Circulation of Franciszek Karpiński's Daily Songs in Polish Culture of the 19th and 20th Centuries (2012), On maps seen elsewhere. Miron Białoszewski and the Cartographic Adventures of Poles (2025) Co-editor of collective volumes, including the “Topo-Grafie” series. His publications focus on the cultural history of the Royal tract, the former western district and its transformations, images of Warsaw in cultural texts and literature.



Organizers:

Warsaw Museum and Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Warsaw

Conducting:

Mikołaj Madurowicz, PhD, and Paweł E. Weszpiński, PhD

Education partner of the Warsaw Museum — PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A.

www.gkpge.pl