"Scarface", dir. Howard Hawks, 1932.

A suspense-filled gangster film, one of the first in the genre, starring Paul Muni, an actor who became an inspiration to generations of American filmmakers. The story of a young criminal, Tony Camote, making his way up in the Chicago demi-monde. The film was made at a time when censorship held sway over American cinema, the idea being that American society should receive a clear, unambiguous picture of good and evil. A prologue was thus added to the film, in which the head of the New York City Police incited viewers to respect the law, and thus to hate the protagonist.

Paul Muni was born in Lviv as Meshulem Weisenfreund, the son of traveling actors performing in Yiddish. As a 7-year-old, he was already living in the United States. He began his acting career in the theater. When filmmakers began to look for new faces after the invention of sound, Muni seized the opportunity. He was awarded an Oscar for his role as Louis Pasteur.

A remake of Scarface was made by Brian de Palma in 1983, starring Al Pacino.

Free entrance

"The Dark Side of Pollywood" film cycle

There would not have been a Hollywood without Polish Jews – directors, producers, actors, and composers. Siegmund Lubin, a native of Poznań, created the first mobile film projector, the Warner brothers from Krasnosielc founded one of the world’s largest film studios, which has since turned out hundreds of popular films. We will present the dark side of Pollywood – gangster films and films noirs which have become classics of world cinema. The cycle is accompanied by a lecture by Andrzej Krakowski, author of the book Pollywood.