Julien Pappé

Julien Pappé was born in 1920 in Rzeszow, Poland. From a very young age, he was interested in meticulous craftsmanship and joined a model-making club. He later put his talent to use in the manufacture of wooden puppets. When war broke out, he was enlisted as a young officer and formed a puppet theatre troupe with his fellow officers. This gave him the opportunity to satirise the absurdity of war.

During the war, he found himself in Russia, where he remained for four years. During this journey, he arrived in Alma-Ata and came across the film sets of Sergei Eisenstein, who was preparing Ivan the Terrible. In 1941, Julien Pappé was hired by the set design team to create the film's scenery. This experience was decisive for his future career. He then spent two years at Moss-Films in Moscow.

When the war ended, he returned to Poland and set up a puppet theatre, Teatr i Lalka, in Lodz. He installed his troupe and wooden puppets in an old cinema. The theatre was a success and he was invited to present his shows in Paris as part of a festival organised by UNESCO.