Ślizgawka w Łazienkach (lost Polish silent film; 1894-1896)

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Ślizgawka film Pleograf.jpg

The only surviving frames of the movie.

Status: Lost

Ślizgawka w Łazienkach (roughly translated to "Łazienki park Slide" or "Ice-skating at Łazienkowski palace") is possibly the first (that's confirmed to exist) film ever made in the history of Polish cinema. It was directed by Kazimierz Prószyński between 1894 and 1896, but released around 1901 or 1902.

Information

Information about this film is very scarce: the only proof of its existence are descriptions made by the Polish press and four film frames that were published in the Warsaw Press.

With a runtime of around 1-3 minutes, the film was about a group of Polish ice skaters at the slide of the Warsaw Ice Skating Society.[1] The film was filmed using a pleograph which was an early type of the movie camera invented by Kazimierz Prószyński.

Suprisingly, it wasn't filmed in Łazienki at all. The real location it was filmed at is in Dolina Szwajcarska (Swiss Valley)[2], which is close to Łazienki. This may suggest the frames actually come from a different film made by Kazimierz Prószynski, "Ślizgawka w Dolinie Szwajcarskiej". [3]

Legacy

Ślizgawka w Łazienkach is thought to be the first Polish film. Due to the history of the making of this film, it's possible that it was either destroyed or is in the hands of a private collector. The film was shown many times at screenings that Prószyński organized first in Warsaw, then all around Poland.

References