Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema

In 1902, scientist and inventor Kazimierz Prószynski made the first Polish narrative film, The Return of a Merry Fellow. Since then, the Polish film industry has produced a diverse body of work, ranging from patriotic melodramas and epic adaptations of the national literary canon to Yiddish cinema and films portraying the corrupt side of communism. Poland has produced several internationally known films, including Andrzej Wajda’s war trilogy, A Generation (1955), Kanal (1957), and Ashes and...