"The tale of Polish cinema should start from its beginnings. These cannot be discussed without the context in which Poles watched the first films and created them themselves. The second half of the 19th century was a period when many inventions were made. Thanks to them, the distances began to seem smaller, and the possibilities opening for mankind, but also for the individual human beings - greater. This also applied to contemporary Poland, which was a poor and enslaved country - for over a hundred years it was under annexation; divided and administered by three countries: Russia, Austria and Prussia. However, exactly the same demographic, civilizational, cultural and social changes took place as in Western Europe and in the United States. The population was growing, emancipation movements appeared, more and more people was learning to read and write, and technical achievements were reaching them. Growing number of people also began to consciously seek contact with culture and entertainment, even if it was low culture. Earlier, access to culture was reserved only for a wellborn, wealthy and educated recipients - only such people had enough time, opportunities and money to do something more than only earning a living. At the end of the nineteenth century, however, a phenomenon called the “intelligent crowd” appeared (Bronisław Chrzanowski’s term)."(...) Publikacja sfinansowana w ramach realizacji projektu „KA 2.0 - program rozwoju Krakowskiej Akademii im. Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego”, współfinansowanego ze środków Unii Europejskiej w ramach Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego, Program Operacyjny Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój 2014-2020, Oś Priorytetowa III. Szkolnictwo wyższe dla gospodarki i rozwoju, Działanie 3.5 Kompleksowe programy szkół wyższych. Projekt realizowany w ramach konkursu Narodowego Centrum Badań i Rozwoju: POWR.03.05.00-IP.08-00-PZ1/17.