Screen as Battlefield

Addresses the relationship between Polish national identity/memory and screen responses to some pivotal, albeit controversial and fervently contested, historical issues.

Screen as Battlefield deals with the treatment of history in Polish cinema after the end of communist rule in 1989 and the return of democracy.

It analyzes not only how local filmmakers have represented the last century’s complex history, but also how various government institutions have tried to influence the cinematic vision of the past through funding (or the lack of it) and by using political pressure.

The year 1989 was as a turning point in Polish history, marking the peaceful transition from a totalitarian system to democracy. After years of mythologizing history, Polish past was finally present on Polish screens. Previously banned or available only in censored versions, historical subjects became prominent in cinema theatres and on television. These topics have included, among others, the Soviet-Nazi pact and aggression on Poland in 1939, the Soviet occupation of the entire region after 1945, the brutal imposition of communist rule, and the Stalinist legacy. Since the founding of the Polish Film Institute (PISF) in 2005, more than one hundred theatrically released films have dealt with Polish history. Several of them received international acclaim and festival awards; they were also popular at the box office. Screen as Battlefield discusses several internationally known films, among them The Pianist (2002), Katyn (2006), Rose (2011), Ida (2013), Warsaw ’44 (2014), Volhynia (aka Hatred, 2016), and Cold War (2018).