by tskzOn 7 May, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. the Star of Ida Kamińska was officially unveiled in the Łódź Walk of Fame at 63 Piotrkowska Street. Ida Kamińska was an actress, director and a long-term head of the Jewish Theatre. She is believed to be the most outstanding, next to her mother, Estera Rachel Kamińska, representative of Yiddish theatre worldwide.
The star unveiling ceremony was opened by Szymon Nowak, who welcomed Deputy Mayor of Łódź, Ms Małgorzata Moskwa-Wodnicką on the red carpet to deliver her address.
“This is a very important moment, involving not only the commemoration of Ida Kaminska’s achievements, but also those of her mother, her father, and the entire community that contributed to the building of the Jewish Theatre in Lodz, as well as artistic legacy in Yiddish. […] This 99th Star, which will be unveiled today on the prestigious Piotrkowska Street, is first and foremost an expression of our respect for Ida Kaminska’s legacy, for what she did in terms of Polish culture, but also for what she did in terms of Polish-Jewish relations in Lodz” – said Małgorzata Moskwa-Wodnicka to the audience.
A representative of the Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Poland, which was the sponsor and initiator of the ceremony, Mr. Artur Hofman, Chairman of the Association, also took the floor:
“What did Ida Kaminska do to earn this star? First of all, she was a star herself, and a really prominent one. Ida made a huge contribution to the history of the Polish theatre, and, in particular, the Jewish theatrical art. In fact, whenever we refer to the history of Polish theatre, or the history of Poland, we also need to make a reference the history of the country’s ethnic minorities. One of such ethnic minorities, which has existed in Poland for a thousand years, are the Polish Jews. Over the past centuries, the have made a huge contribution to the history of literature, art and, history in general […]Today we commemorate the person who had to wait until 2024 for this star unveiling ceremony. Ida Kaminska deserves this star, due to the fact that she was associated with Lodz, and as a great actress was nominated for an Academy Award, at the time when the competition for an Oscar statuette was enormous”.
The star unveiling ceremony was accompanied by two very special events.
The first of these events was an open meeting with the TSKZ’s Chairman, Mr Artur Hofman, which took place at the NCKF SPOT at Łódź’s EC1 Cultural Centre at ul. Targowa 1/3. The speaker, answering questions from Szymon Nowak, the event’s host, recounted the role of Ida Kamińska in building the history of Poland and the Jewish community of Poland. Artur Hofman, as an actor and director who launched his career at the Jewish Theatre in Warsaw, entertained the audience with countless anecdotes on the life of the Jewish theatre community.
At 6 p.m. began the culminating event of the festival i.e. the screening of the Czechoslovak film titled: The Main Street Shop, directed by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos, in which Ida Kaminska played one of the leading parts. The role earned Ida a special mention at Cannes, a Golden Globe nomination and, most significantly, an Academy Award nomination for Best Leading Actress. The history of the film, which was awarded the statuette for best foreign language film, and Ida Kaminska – the only Polish actress nominated for this prestigious film award – was presented by film historian Maciej Gil before the screening.
The unveiling ceremony of the Ida Kaminska star was co-organized by the National Film Culture Centre and EC1 Łódź City of Culture.
