Lissowscy Family Archive

collection Lissowscy Family Archive
authors Jan Lissowski; Józefa Lissowska
starring Józefa Lissowska; Jan Lissowski; Ewa Lissowska; Tomasz Lissowski
length 09'46
country Poland
locations Hel, Poland 
year 1958
format 16 mm
color color
signature PAFD 0002 006
description

Józefa Lissowska, Jan Lissowski and their children: Ewa (born in 1950) and Tomek (born in 1952).

Jan Lissowski (1920–2008), an author was a student at the secret Warsaw University of Technology in 1943–1944. After the war, he graduated from the Faculty of Communications. While he was still a student, he got employed at the Documentary Film Studio, where he became the Head of Technology. Since 1957, he worked at the Experimental and Service Film Center at ul. Dominikańska 9 (later names of this company – the Research and Development Film Center and FOBR-Techfilm). It was there that he and his team developed an innovative technology for the production of magnetic tape, which, for decades, was used in cinematography for sound recording. In 1960–1967, he worked simultaneously as a technical manager at Television Film Production Department TVP. He later returned to full-time work at FOBR until he retired on January 1st, 1989.

A film from a holiday trip to the seaside, which we learn from the opening shot. We can see a sign in the shape of a lifebuoy with the inscription “Souvenirs from Hel”. Józefa and the children go to the beach. They pass by a historic post-Evangelical St. Peter and Paul church (since 1972, the Museum of Fishery has been operating there). They walk along ul. gen. Waltera (today’s ul. Wiejska), which is Hel’s promenade. We can see such signs as “Hairdresser’s” or “Jantar Cinema” (the historical seat of Lwia Jama restaurant with a characteristic bas-relief). Jan and his children enter the beach through a forest dune. The next scenes show typical seaside activities: collecting seashells, jumping over the waves, playing dodgeball, building castles and moats from the sand, climbing breakwaters. In one of the inside shots, we can see a tame squirrel. It was the attraction of the place where the Lissowski family stayed. In the final scenes of the film, we can see Józefa with her children standing by the same round sign “Souvenirs from Hel” and Ewa crouching by the waterline and writing with her finger the word “End” on the sand.

(KN)

keywords Hel  sea  church  dunes  beach  waves  cutter  lighthouse  dodgeball  squirrel  seagulls  breakwater  fishing  fishing rod  fishing line 
source of funding Ministry of Culture and National Heritage