On 5 March 1956, the daily Sztandar Ludu wrote:
On the initiative of the District Council of the Polish Students’ Association at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, a film society was established for students and young intelligentsia. The new association has an ambitious plan: to introduce young intellectuals to the history of Polish and international cinema and to eminent filmmakers. It intends to invite film directors, students of the Higher Film School in Łódź, film critics, who will give lectures on issues of interest to the Lublin aficionados of the Tenth Muse.
On the morning of Sunday 11 March 1956, the Old Town Cinema hosted the inaugural meeting of one of Poland’s first film societies (known as DKFs – Debating Film Clubs). The screened film was Battleship Potemkin (dir. Sergei Eisenstein, 1925). It was accompanied by a lecture by historian Zygmunt Mańkowski, and the discussion after the screening reportedly lasted as long as two hours.
