Lodz’s “Palace of Sports” was built between 1948 and 1957 to a design by an engineer from Gdańsk, Witold Prochaska. The hall was equipped with a full-size ice rink, making it one of the most modern facilities of its kind in Poland. The inaugural hockey game was watched by 8,000 spectators. Also here, on July 15, 1960, the first public screening of Aleksander Ford’s “Knights of the Teutonic Order” (Polish title: “Krzyżacy”) took place.

Cold War

directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, 2018

 

In Paweł Pawlikowski’s film, the Lodz Sports Hall turns into an auditorium in East Berlin, where the Mazurek band comes to perform. In the following shots, Wiktor (Tomasz Kot), smokes a cigarette while sitting on a bed in a hotel room, and behind his back we can see a fragment of a distinctive mosaic with skaters. Facing his own thoughts, Wiktor makes a decision – he leaves the room, closes the door and walks down the corridor passing more pillars. Meanwhile, Kaczmarek (Borys Szyc) is talking to Zula (Joanna Kulig) in the dressing room, trying to persuade her to come to the banquet.

 

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