Women in Polish Cinema [Paperback]

Polish film has long enjoyed an outstanding reputation but its best known protagonists tend to be male. This book points to the important role of women as key characters in Polish films, such as the enduring female figure in Polish culture, the Polish Mother, female characters in socialist realistic cinema, women depicted in the films of the Polish School, Solidarity heroines, and women in the films from the postcommunist period. Not less important for the success of Polish cinema are Polish women filmmakers, four of whom are presented in this volume: Wanda Jakubowska, Agnieszka Holland, Barbara Sass and Dorota Kdzierzawska, whose work is examined.

Elzbieta Ostrowskacurrently teaches film at the University of Alberta (Canada). Publications include,The Cinema of Andrzej Wajda. The Art of Irony and Defiance(co-ed. with John Orr, Wallflower 2003),Gender-Film-Media(co-ed. with Elzbieta Oleksy, Rabid 2001),Gender w kinie europejskim i mediach(ed., Rabid 2001)Przestrzen filmowa(Rabid 2000),Gender in Film and the Media. East-West Dialogues(co-ed. with Elzbieta Oleksy, Michael Stevenson, Peter Lang 2000),Kino ma sto lat(co-ed. with Jan Rek, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu L?dzkiego 1998).

Ewa Mazierskais Professor of Contemporary Cinema, Department of Humanities, University of Central Lancashire. Her publications include numerous articles in Polish and English and several books, such asDreams and Diaries: The Cinema of Nanni Moretti(Wallflower Press, London, 2004) andFrom Moscow to Madrid: Postmodern Cities, European Cinema(IB Tauris, 2003, London) (both co-authored with Laura Rascaroli). She also co-editedRelocating Britishness(MUP, 2004).

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements

Introduction
Ewa MazierskaandElzbieta Ostrowska

PART I: THE POLISH MOTHERl³&