In advance of the 15th annual\u00a0Silent Movie Festival<\/a>,\u00a0Katarzyna Wajda from National Film Archive \u2013 Audiovisual Institute, introduces the cinematic life of Poland’s first film star: Pola Negri.<\/strong><\/p>\n Meet the extraordinary Pola Negri: Poland\u2019s first film star and the only Pole to make her American dream come true in Hollywood, a true European equally at home in Warsaw, Berlin and Paris, a femme fatale on the screen but a hard-working woman in real life, a fashion trendsetter and the author of her own legend, an actress who earned a permanent place in the annals of world cinema, and an (e)migrant whose own story reflects the turbulent history of the 20th century.<\/p>\n A Polish star in the German sky<\/strong>\u00a0Pola Negri was a film legend with a film-worthy story: born Apolonia Barbara Cha\u0142upiec, her life is a 20th-century retelling of Cinderella. It is a tale of extraordinary social ascent: from a poor riverside neighbourhood in Warsaw to Hollywood, by way of Berlin, from a humble attic room to a mansion in suburban Paris. Hers is a story of triumph through sheer talent, hard work and determination. She overcame social and linguistic barriers: the daughter of a washerwoman and tinsmith, she mastered five languages and briefly became a Polish countess and Georgian princess (though only briefly – both marriages failed), and her celebrity status eclipsed her lowly origins.<\/p>\n Her tale is also one of movie stardom, easier to achieve in a globalised era of silent film, but impressive nonetheless. While many actresses of the time boasted large eyes and dark eyelids, and heavily emphasised their facial expressions, the aesthetic came to be\u00a0personified by Pola Negri<\/a>. Negri\u2019s story is also one of unfulfilled dreams. Unable to pursue a career in ballet due to an illness, Pola enrolled in acting school.<\/p>\n Her successful performance in the pantomime\u00a0Sumurun<\/em><\/a>\u00a0launched the sixteen-year-old into the nascent world of film.\u00a0Aleksander Hertz<\/a>, the owner of Sfinks, Poland\u2019s largest movie studio, turned Pola into the country\u2019s first film star. After debuting in\u00a0Slave to Her Senses<\/em>\u00a0(Niewolnica zmys\u0142\u00f3w<\/em>, 1914), the beautiful actress accepted a number of roles as a\u00a0femme fatale<\/em>\u00a0who ruins the lives of the men who fall for her. With her distinctive eyes and sensual dance style, Negri was already developing a visual trademark. Leaving Warsaw behind, in 1917 the \u201cPolish Asta Nielsen\u201d heads to Berlin, making movies for Saturn-Film.<\/p>\n She later strikes these pictures from her official filmography, highlighting instead her theatrical work with Max Reinhardt and cinema productions for her Pygmalion, Ernst Lubitsch. Hertz may have discovered Pola Negri and launched her career, but it was the German director who turned her into a true actress. Together, Negri and Lubitsch made five films, including\u00a0Carmen<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(1918), in which her beauty, talent for dancing, and catlike charm help solidify her image as an exotic\u00a0femme fatale<\/em>, and finally,\u00a0Madame Dubarry<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(1919), in which Pola plays a suggestively erotic role, taking Europe and America by storm and helping to end German\u2019s post-war isolation. For both of them, the movie is a ticket to Hollywood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"