Editing Roman Polanski (section)

== Early career in Poland ==
[[File:Roman Polanski gwiazda Lodz.jpg|thumb|Polanski's star on the [[Łódź]] walk of fame]]
Polanski attended the [[National Film School in Łódź]], the third-largest city in Poland.<ref name="Łódź"/> In the 1950s, Polanski took up acting, appearing in [[Andrzej Wajda]]'s ''[[Pokolenie]]'' (''A Generation'', 1954) and in the same year in Silik Sternfeld's ''[[Zaczarowany rower]]'' (''Enchanted Bicycle'' or ''Magical Bicycle''). Polanski's directorial debut was also in 1955 with a short film, ''Rower'' (''Bicycle''). ''Rower'' is a semi-autobiographical feature film, believed to be lost, which also starred Polanski. It refers to his real-life violent altercation with a notorious Kraków felon, Janusz Dziuba, who arranged to sell Polanski a bicycle, but instead beat him badly and stole his money. In real life, the offender was arrested while fleeing after fracturing Polanski's skull, and executed for three murders, out of eight prior such assaults which he had committed.<ref name="thesmokinggun" /> Several other short films made during his study at Łódź gained him considerable recognition, particularly ''[[Two Men and a Wardrobe]]'' (1958) and ''[[When Angels Fall]]'' (1959). He graduated in 1959.<ref name="Łódź" />