Overview

Across Polish film history, the contributions of women have often been overshadowed by their male counterparts. While figures like Wanda Jakubowska, Barbara Sass-Zdort, and Agnieszka Holland have garnered recognition, many others remain marginalized and their work alarmingly under-researched. This open access book redresses this imbalance, providing a comprehensive analysis of women's engagement in Polish cinema from as early as the 1930s up to present day. The volume provides an in-depth exploration of the careers and achievements of women both in front of and behind the camera. These include actresses such as Nora Ney, Jadwiga Smosarska, and Lena Zelichowska; producers like Maria Hirszbein; directors such as Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz, Krystyna Janda, Natalia Koryncka-Gruz, Urszula Urbaniak, and Izabella Cywinskal; as well as scriptwriters, editors, and amateur filmmakers. In doing so, it challenges traditional film historiography, uncovering the systemic neglect and patriarchal structures that have long suppressed women's contributions to the industry. The case studies presented also revise the Western perspective on Polish and Eastern European cinema, challenging the misplaced notion that it is primarily a politically engaged, male-dominated auteur cinema. In doing so, the volume initiates the long-overdue process of rewriting the vernacular history of Polish cinema.

Full Product Details

Author:   Malgorzata Radkiewicz (Jagiellonian University, Poland) ,  Elzbieta Ostrowska (University of Lódz, Poland)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Bloomsbury Academic
Dimensions:   Width: 15.80cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 23.60cm
Weight:   0.780kg
ISBN:  

9781350532106

ISBN 10:   135053210
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   11 June 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

Introduction - Malgorzata Radkiewicz (Jagiellonian University, Poland), Elzbieta Ostrowska (University of Lódz, Poland) I: Broken voices 1. Broken careers: Re-writing the history of female film stars of the 1930s - Grzegorz Rogowski (National Film Archives, Poland) 2. Women’s issues – women’s solutions: Short student films by female students of the Lódz Film School - Paulina Kwiatkowska (University of Warsaw, Poland) 3. First-time women directors in Polish post-transformation cinema 1989-2005 - Magdalena Podsiadlo-Kwiecien (Jagiellonian University, Poland) II: Voices from the margins 4.Creative works by women in Polish animation - Hanna Margolis (Film School in Lódz, Poland) 5. Women of coal”: post-war industrialization in films by female documentary filmmakers - Jadwiga Hucková (Jagiellonian University, Poland) 6. Cinema for children and young adults – female companionship and collaboration - Magdalena Walo (Jagiellonian University, Poland) 7. Janina Matejuk and Amateur Female Filmmakers in the AKF Movement” - Paulina Haratyk (Jagiellonian University, Poland) III: (In)dependent voices 8. An actress’s sovereignty: the emancipatory project of Lucyna Winnicka - Sebastian Jagielski (Jagiellonian University, UK) 9. Barbara Pec-Slesicka: In the Shadow of Andrzej Wajda - Malgorzata Radkiewicz 10. The 'Man of Providence' and his 'Secret Advisor': the collaboration of Andrzej Wajda and Agnieszka Holland - Elzbieta Ostrowska Bibliography Index

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Author Information

Elzbieta Ostrowska is Associate Professor of Film and Audiovisual Media at the University of Lódz, Poland. She is co-author (with Ewa Mazierska) of Women in Polish Cinema (2006). Her articles have appeared in Slavic Review, Studies in European Cinema, and Film-Philosophy. Malgorzata Radkiewicz is Professor of Film Studies at Jagiellonian University, Poland. She is author of Derek Jarman: Portrait of an Individualist (2003), The Young Wolves of Polish Cinema: The Gender Category and the Debuts of the 90s (2006) and Faces of Queer Cinema (2014).

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