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 Kędzierzawska, whose work is examined.
Table of Content
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Ewa Mazierska and Elzbieta Ostrowska
PART I: THE POLISH MOTHER
Chapter 1. The Myth of the Polish Mother
Joanna Szwajcowska
PART II: WOMEN ACCORDING TO MEN
Chapter 2. Filmic Representations of the Myth of the Polish Mother
Elzbieta Ostrowska
Chapter 3. Polish ‘Superwoman’: a Liberation or Victimisation?
Elzbieta Ostrowska
Chapter 4. Caught between Activity and Passivity: Women in the Polish School
Elzbieta Ostrowska
Chapter 5. Agnieszka and Other Solidarity Heroines of Polish Cinema
Ewa Mazierska
Chapter 6. Witches, Bitches and Other Victims of the Crisis of Masculinity: Women in Polish Postcommunist Cinema
Ewa Mazierska
Chapter 7. Between Fear and Attraction: Images of ‘Other’ Women
Elzbieta Ostrowska
PART III: WOMEN BEHIND THE CAMERA
Chapter 8. Wanda Jakubowska: the Communist Fighter
Ewa Mazierska
Chapter 9. Barbara Sass: the Author of Women’s Films
Ewa Mazierska
Chapter 10. Agnieszka Holland: a Sceptic
Elzbieta Ostrowska
Chapter 11. Dorota Kêdzierzawska: Ambivalent Feminist
Ewa Mazierska
Filmography
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Ewa Mazierska is Professor of Contemporary Cinema, Department of Humanities, University of Central Lancashire. Her publications include numerous articles in Polish and English and several books, such as Dreams and Diaries: The Cinema of Nanni Moretti (Wallflower Press, London, 2004) and From Moscow to Madrid: Postmodern Cities, European Cinema (IB Tauris, 2003, London) (both co-authored with Laura Rascaroli). She also co-edited Relocating Britishness (MUP, 2004).
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