Antonina Elżbieta Petrykiewicz (born 1874, died 1966), better known as Nina Niovilla, was a Polish film director, screenwriter, actress, translator and a teacher. She was the first Polish female film director and the only female director of the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

era in Poland.

Life

She was born in 1874 in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

as Antonina Elżbieta Petrykiewicz. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she made a living as a singer and an actress in Warsaw and Berlin. In 1906 she had a daughter Ludwika Janina born in Lviv. Niovilla was the first Polish woman to direct a film and – at the same time – the only female film director of the silent film era in Poland. She debuted in 1918 in Berlin, where she directed the movie ''Die Heiratsannonce'', under a pseudonym Nina von Petry. Her first Polish film was ''Tamara'', also known as ''Obrońcy Lwowa'' (1919), which she directed after returning to Poland. With its use of the Battle of Lemberg as the background of the plot, ''Tamara'' had a patriotic theme, which was a popular motif in Polish filmmaking at the time. As with all the films that followed, Niovilla wrote the script herself. Her second Polish film was the melodrama ''Czaty'' – an adaptation of a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...

about a jealous husband, which premiered on 20 November 1920. The rights to screen the picture were sold abroad. Around this time, Niovilla also performed in the Qui Pro Quo cabaret. Her next film, ''Idziem do ciebie, Polsko, matko nasza'' (1921) saw her return to patriotic themes. Niovilla’s final film was the melodrama ''Młodość zwycięża'' (1923), which she also produced. In 1926 the press informed that Niovilla was set to direct the film ''W szponach szakali'' based on a script by Kazimierz Krzyżanowski. None of her work has survived. In 1926, Niovilla became one of the first international delegates of

ZAIKS The Society of Authors ZAiKS ( pl, Stowarzyszenie Autorów ZAiKS, where the acronym stands for the Society′s original founding name, ''Society of Authors and Stage Composers'', pl, Związek Autorów i Kompozytorów Scenicznych or ''ZAiKS''), e ...

at the 35. ALAI Congress. At the end of the 1920s she appeared in films and theatre plays directed by Danny Kaden (''Niebezpieczny pocałunek''), Edward Puchalski (''Ludzie dzisiejsi''), as well as Adam Augustynowicz and Ryszard Biske (''9.25. Przygoda jednej nocy''). She also taught acting. In 1919, she opened her own acting school in Warsaw called Warszawska Szkoła Gry Sceniczno-Filmowej and later opened its branches in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, Lviv and

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. One of the school’s alumni was

Aleksander Żabczyński Aleksander Bożydar Żabczyński (24 July 1900 in Warsaw – 31 May 1958 in Warsaw), was a Polish stage and movie actor, one of the most popular actors during the interwar period in Poland. Filmography * ''Czerwony błazen'' (1926) * ''Ziemia ob ...

. Apart from working on films and teaching, Niovilla also translated theatre plays from English and French to Polish, which were then staged at, among others, the

Polish Theatre in Warsaw Polish Theatre in Warsaw ( pl, Teatr Polski im. Arnolda Szyfmana w Warszawie) is a theatre in Warsaw, Poland. It is located at ul. Karasia 2. The current artistic director is Andrzej Seweryn. The theatre was initiated by Arnold Szyfman and desig ...

, the National Theatre, the Teatr Nowy in

and the Teatr Rozmaitości in Lviv. She also contributed to film magazines such as ''Sztuka i Film'' and ''Rewia Filmowa.'' She left Poland in 1946 to join her daughter in Paris, where she died 20 years later. She was buried at the

Batignolles Cemetery The Batignolles Cemetery (french: Cimetière des Batignolles) is a cemetery in Paris. History Batignolles Cemetery opened on 22 August 1833. Part of the cemetery had to be closed and the graves moved because of the construction of the great ring ...

Works

Filmography

* 1918: ''Die Heiratsannonce'' * 1919: ''Tamara'' (also: ''Obrońcy Lwowa'') * 1920: ''Czaty'' * 1921: ''Idziem do ciebie, Polsko, matko nasza'' * 1921: ''Z dni grozy'' * 1923: ''Młodość zwycięża'' * 1929: ''9:25. Przygoda jednej nocy'' (acting), directed by Adam Augustynowicz and Ryszard Biske

Translations

Plays

* ''Matka i córka'' (staged: 1908); Gaston Armand de Caillavet,

Robert de Flers Robert Pellevé de La Motte-Ango, marquis de Flers (25 November 1872, Pont-l'Évêque, Calvados – 30 July 1927, Vittel) was a French playwright, opera librettist, and journalist.Pierre Barillet, ''Les Seigneurs du rire: Flers – Caillavet – ...

* ''Familijka'' (1916, 1935); Eugene Holtai * ''Mandaryn Wu'' (1926, 1927); Harold Owen, Harry Maurice Vernon * ''Pociąg widmo'' (1926, 1928, 1956);

Arnold Ridley William Arnold Ridley, OBE (7 January 1896 – 12 March 1984) was an English playwright and actor, earlier in his career known for writing the play '' The Ghost Train'' and later in life in the British TV sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (1968–1977) as ...

* ''Nieuchwytny'' (1928, 1933);

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

* ''Koniec pani Cheyney'' (1929);

Frederick Lonsdale Frederick Lonsdale (5 February 1881 – 4 April 1954) was a British playwright known for his librettos to several successful musicals early in the 20th century, including '' King of Cadonia'' (1908), ''The Balkan Princess'' (1910), ''Betty'' (1 ...

* ''Niebieski lis'' (1930);

Ferenc Herczeg Ferenc Herczeg (born ''Franz Herzog'', 22 September 1863 in Versec, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire – 24 February 1954 in Budapest, Hungary) was a Hungarian playwright and author who promoted conservative nationalist opinion in his coun ...

* ''Burza w domu panien'' (1941); Alex Breidhal

Novels

* 1939: ''Yang i Yin'',

Alice Tisdale Hobart Alice Tisdale Hobart (January 28, 1882 – March 14, 1967) born Alice Nourse in Lockport, New York, was an American novelist. Her most famous book, '' Oil for the Lamps of China'', which was also made into a film, drew heavily on her experiences ...

; Warsaw: Towarzystwo Wydawnicze „Rój”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Niovilla, Nina 1874 births 1966 deaths Polish women film directors Polish film directors Polish screenwriters Polish translators Burials at Batignolles Cemetery Polish women screenwriters Women film pioneers Polish emigrants to France