Product details
- ISBN 9781350532106
- Weight: 780g
- Dimensions: 158 x 236mm
- Publication Date: 11 Jun 2026
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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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.
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).
