Polanski and the Łódź Film School

As a young man, Roman Polanski got his education in film at the prestigious National Film School in Łódź, Poland, which also turned out some of the greatest directors of Poland’s own 1960s cinema renaissance (Andrej Wajda and Krzysztof Kieślowski among them). Polanski, of course, went in a slightly different direction than most of his compatriots. He made but one film in Poland, his spectacular 1962 debut, Knife in the Water, which immediately garnered him international recognition. From there, it was on to the U.K. for a trio of films before Hollywood came calling.