KADR (studio)
KADR is a major Polish film production and distribution company, founded in 1955 and still producing films as of 2016. Between its founding and 2003, KADR released 150 films in total, including many classics of Polish cinema.
History
"Arguably the most important Polish film studio," Kadr was founded on May 1, 1955, by filmmaker Jerzy Kawalerowicz, and its initial output is closely associated with him. Along with Krzysztof Teodor Toeplitz and Tadeusz Konwicki, Kawalerowicz was a primary influence on the development of the Polish Film School in the 1950s. With a few exceptions, its landmark films were produced at Kadr.The organization began as one of a few "film units" set up as state enterprises, and with close connections to the establishment National Film School in Łódź. By 1968 Kadr was a major studio, producing perhaps four titles annually, including the big-budget three-year period production of Pharaoh, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1967.
The studio was closed in the political turmoil of March 1968, and re-established three years later on January 1, 1972. Kawalerowicz continued as artistic director from the founding until his death in 2007.
Pursuant to the Order of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of 3 September 2019, on 1 October 2019, the KADR studio merged with the Tor, Zebra, Studio Miniatur Filmowych studios and the "old" WFDiF, on the basis of which the new Warsaw Documentary Film Studio was established.