Structured according to key themes, Polish Cinema Today analyzes the remarkable innovations in Polish cinema emerging a decade after the 1989 dissolution of the Soviet bloc, once its film industry had evolved from a socialist state enterprise into a much more accessible system of film production, with growing expertise in distribution and marketing. By the early 2000s, an impressive, diverse cohort of filmmakers broke through the gridlock of a small set of esteemed, aging auteurs as well as the glut of imported Hollywood blockbusters, empowered by the digital revolution and domestic audience appetite for independent work. Polish directors today challenge sacrosanct bromides about national and gender identity, Poland’s historical martyrdom, the status of the influential Catholic Church, and the benevolent family, while investigating the phenomena of migration and sexuality in their full complexity. Each thematic chapter places these recent films within a historical/cultural context nationally and transnationally, and designs its analyses of specific works to engage general audiences of film scholars, students, and cinephiles.

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To satisfy all three intended audiences—film teachers, students, and cinephiles—Goscilo and Holmgren selected critically acclaimed films and films that elicited the liveliest discussions in the courses they taught at their respect universities…. The sophisticated close analyses of the films are interspersed with pertinent information about the films' directors and actors and the reception of the films both nationally and internationally. The book is a welcome addition to the existing corpus of Polish film studies scholarship. It will be a great resource not only for scholars but also for lovers of Polish cinema. Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers.