Since the 19th century Łódź has followed its film tradition finding it very important for its identity. Our city is recognized worldwide as the seat of one of the best film schools, and also a filmmaking and film art-related events center.
Łódź used to be one of the most important centers of reviving film culture in the post-war Poland. The city's cultural revival was faster than in the country's other regions owing to a relatively small extent of the war destruction. The Theatre Art Institute with its film faculty opened in spring 1945 and "Film Polski" State Enterprise, which was established in the fall of the same year, became the germ of the city's post-war film history. Subsequent institutions started coming to life following those first ones like Wytwórnia Filmów Fabularnych (Feature Film Production Company) functioning in the years 1945 – 1998 and regarded as the largest film production company in the country with the output of hundreds of films and almost 1000 film episodes produced for over 50-year operation. Today the Łódzkie Centrum Filmowe (the Łódź Film Center) takes care of the heritage of the former and already non-existing WFF's and provides film productions with an impressive collection of almost 300 000 props and costumes that were once used in such films as "The Teutonic Knights", "More Than Life at Stake", or "The Land of Promise". ŁCF also owns the only country's collection of film pyrotechnics compiling approximately 1800 pieces of fire arms dating back to various historical epochs. Nowadays the production facilities of the former Film Production Company are used by national and foreign producers, while the whole building complex houses numerous private companies providing film services among which there are such well known studios as OPUS FILM and TOYA STUDIOS with their modern film – sound – concert facilities.
The second after-war institution in Łódź involved in film production was Wytwórnia Filmów Oświatowych (Educational Film Production Company), which has operated until now under its changed name of Wytwórnia Filmów Oświatowych i Programów Edukacyjnych (Educational Film and Program Production Company) since 1994. Its film output comprises over 5 000 films winning over 1200 awards at national and foreign festivals. 
In the famous Se-ma-for Studio of Small Film Forms world known serial animated films for children such as "Floppy-Ear Teddy Bear", "Adventures of Colargol Teddy Bear", "Magic Pencil", "Adventures of Filemon Cat" were created. Altogether the studio produced over 1400 films (including approximately 800 puppet ones). Zbigniew Rybczyński made his Oscar winning "Tango" in Se-ma-for. After the liquidation of the state-owned Se-ma-for a group of its former employees founded a producer company under the name of Se-ma-for Film Production. It is in this studio the puppet animation "Peter and the Wolf" winning the 2007 Oscar for best short film animated was made.
In 1948, as a result of various transformations, the Theatrel Art Institute gave rise to the Higher Film School, which was a direct precursor of The Polish National Film, Television and Theater School formally established in 1958 and celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. One of the most important European film schools gained its fame through the successes of its eminent graduate directors, e.g. Andrzej Munk, Janusz Morgenstern, Andrzej Wajda, Roman Polański, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Krzysztof Zanussi or Zbigniew Rybczyński.
This brief account gives a general picture of the film Łódź. To learn more about the roots and development of the film industry in Łódź it is well worthwhile to visit the only Poland's Museum of Cinematography, and get familiar with the film art achievements in its one hundred-year history. The unique 19th century peep-show device, a rich collection of film posters and numerous production designs for feature and animated films will take us on an exciting journey to the film past.
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