Jerzy Toeplitz

Jerzy Toeplitz remains to this day by far the longest standing President of FIAF (1948-72), although his own involvement in a film archive was limited to his role in the founding of the Polish Film Archive in 1946 and his term as its Director from 1948-52. He is probably better known for having founding and led two of the major film schools (the Polish Film School in Lodz, in the 1950s and 1960s, and the Australian Film Television & Radio School, 1973-1979).

It is largely thanks to his unique diplomatic and language skills that FIAF managed to survive the famous schism with Langlois in 1959, and to successfully navigate through the complicated years of the Cold War. Jerzy Toeplitz was elected FIAF Honorary Member in 1974 and continued to attend a number of FIAF Congresses in his later life - his last was in Los Angeles in 1995, less than three months before his passing.

Ray Edmondson, "A memory of Jerzy Toeplitz", Journal of Film Preservation, Issue 83, November 2010, pp.74-75

Wolfgang Klaue, "Lest we forget..." Journal of Film Preservation, Issue 81, November 2009,pp.2-4

Jan de Vaal, "Le Rythme de l'histoire", Journal of Film Preservation, Issue 51, November 1995, p.66

Wolfgang Klaue, "Jerzy Toeplitz: a memoir" Journal of Film Preservation, Issue 51,November 1995,p. 67-68

Jerzy Płażewski, "Jerzy Toeplitz, 1909-1995", Journal of Film Preservation, Issue 51, November 1995, pp.68-70

Wolfgang Klaue and Jerzy Toeplitz, "Past, present, future: a dialogue between two former FIAF presidents", Journal of Film Preservation, Issue 48, April 1994, pp.2-14

Jerzy Toeplitz, "Looking into the Past", Bulletin FIAF, Issue 36, 1988

"A living history - Jerzy Toeplitz 75 years!", FIAF Information Bulletin, Issue 28, December 1984, p.29

Adrian Dannatt, “Jerzy Toeplitz”, The Independent, 2 August 1995