_UNDERSCORE
The Living Tradition of Polish Cinema

 

by Adam Kruk

While legendary Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski won Best Film at the inaugural European Film Awards in 1988, it may come as a surprise that Poland only won its first Oscar for Best International Feature in 2015 — despite having as many as 13 nominations, from Roman Polański’s KNIFE IN THE WATER (1963) to Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO (2023). That historic win went to Paweł Pawlikowski’s IDA, a decade ago now. The film had already swept the European Film Awards, earning accolades for Best Director, Best Screenplay (Paweł Pawlikowski and Rebecca Lenkiewicz), Best Cinematography (Prix Carlo di Palma for Łukasz Żal and Ryszard Lenczewski), and most notably, Best Film and the People’s Choice Award. IDA’s success marked not just a personal triumph, but also a symbolic recognition of Polish cinema as a whole, as the film is deeply rooted in the country’s cinematic traditions — particularly those of the late 1950s and 1960s.

This connection is evident even in the film’s use of the 4:3 aspect ratio (in contrast to today’s 16:9 standard), evoking the aesthetic of auteur cinema of the time: Bergman, the French New Wave, and of course, the Polish Film School — an informal group of postwar filmmakers that emerged after the political thaw of October 1956. The Polish Film School was known for its sombre themes (exploring the aftermath of World War II and examining national myths), while at the same time using a new aesthetic that broke with socialist realism and corresponded to the tradition of Italian neorealism and the French New Wave. Films like Andrzej Wajda’s ASHES AND DIAMONDS, Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s NIGHT TRAIN, and Andrzej Munk’s PASSENGER (the subject of a recent documentary by Michał Bielawski) stand as quintessential examples.

IDA features visual references to all those titles. Beyond nods to Wajda’s iconic ASHES AND DIAMONDS, Pawlikowski draws inspiration from other Polish Film School classics such as Kawalerowicz’s MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (1961) — a film that later inspired Ken Russell’s controversial THE DEVILS (1971) — and Kazimierz Kutz’s NOBODY’S CALLING, a Silesian director’s polemical response to Wajda, often compared to Antonioni’s L’AVVENTURA. The stylized black-and-white cinematography in IDA resonates emotionally, reflecting a post-war Poland still reeling from trauma — a crumbling world depicted through visual language defined by legendary cinematographer Jerzy Wójcik, to whom IDA’s creators paid homage.

Pawlikowski re-affirmed this artistic lineage in COLD WAR, which won him the Best Director award at Cannes and starred European Film Award winner Joanna Kulig. That film, too, harks back to the Polish Film School, particularly Wojciech Jerzy Has’s FAREWELLS (1958) — a director perhaps less internationally recognized than Wajda or Polański, but no less visionary. Has, a unique figure in Polish cinema, combined Polish Film School roots with a distinct, Felliniesque imagination, often operating on the fringes of the mainstream.

The Polish Senate has declared 2025 the Year of Has, marking the centenary of his birth. Celebrations include nation-wide screenings and international retrospectives — one held at the Bergamo Film Meeting in Italy, and a touring program currently in Spain. Films such as THE NOOSE, HOW TO BE LOVED, and cult classics like THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT and THE HOURGLASS SANATORIUM (recently re-imagined by the Quay Brothers) continue to captivate audiences with their boundless imagination. The influential Polish magazine Kino, akin to French Cahiers du Cinéma or British Sight & Sound, recently dedicated its May issue to Has.

If you’re wondering why all the directors mentioned so far are men, the answer lies in a broader historical pattern. Until the 1970s, women world-wide were largely excluded from directorial roles. In Poland, it wasn’t until artists like Agnieszka Holland and Barbara Sass emerged in the 1970s that this began to change. Likewise, the first woman ever nominated for the Best Director Oscar was Italian Lina Wertmüller for SEVEN BEAUTIES in 1977. Yet cinema history holds earlier female pioneers: Alice Guy-Blaché is being rediscovered, Leni Riefenstahl remains a subject of debate (most recently in Andres Veiel’s documentary), and Dorothy Arzner’s Hollywood films have seen re-newed interest, including at the American Film Festival in Wrocław.

Poland had its own groundbreaking figure: Wanda Jakubowska, best known for THE LAST STAGE — the first feature film shot in Auschwitz after its liberation. A former camp’s prisoner herself, Jakubowska has delivered the film that was both a critical and commercial success, winning the Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 1948. Internationally dubbed “the mother of all Holocaust films,” she was later marginalised in Poland as a staunch communist. A decade ago, she was reappraised in a biography by Prof. Monika Talarczyk-Gubała and has since been embraced as a key figure not just in Polish cinema, but also in Polish herstory and queerstory — reflected in her inclusion in the newly opened Queer Museum Warsaw.

Jakubowska also taught for many years at the legendary Łódź Film School, alma mater of Wajda, Polański, Kieślowski, and contemporary filmmakers like Małgorzata Szumowska (a protégé of Has), Jan Komasa, and Magnus von Horn. The school consistently ranks among the world’s top 10 film academies. Less known is the story of one of its co-founders and long-time rectors, Jerzy Toeplitz, who fled Poland after 1968 due to anti-semitic persecution. He went on to establish the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Sydney in 1973, playing a crucial role in the rise of the Australian New Wave.

Strong cinema is built on strong institutions. In addition to film schools, film festivals are essential. The cultural impact of the “big three” — Venice (est. 1932), Cannes (1946), and Berlin (1951) — cannot be overstated. Festivals have also played a significant role in shaping  Polish cinema: the Krakow Film Festival, founded in 1961, remains key for short and documentary films, is part of the European Film Academy’s festival network to establish the shortlisted and nominated short films and serves as an Oscar qualifier. The Warsaw Film Festival (est. 1985), recognized by FIAPF, was co-founded by Roman Gutek, a towering figure in post-1989 Polish cinema. Through Gutek Film (the first title introduced by the firm to Polish audiences was LISBON STORY by Wim Wenders — long-time president of the European Film Academy) he also founded the New Horizons Association. Its flagship event, the New Horizons Film Festival — now in its 25th edition — is among the most vital and beloved in Central Europe.

Finally, among many other important ones, such as Camerimage or Docs Against Gravity, there’s the Gdynia Film Festival, celebrating its 50th edition this year. Devoted exclusively to Polish cinema, it remains a crucial platform for national filmmakers. Past winners include THE DELUGE (dir. Jerzy Hoffman, 1974) — an Oscar-nominated box-office giant — Krzysztof Kieślowski’s A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING (1988), which won the first European Film Award (then still called the Felix), the aforementioned IDA, and GREEN BORDER (2023) by Agnieszka Holland, who has also made lasting contributions to the European Film Academy. Well, she’s European to the core – just like Polish cinema.

© European Film Academy 2025
UNDERSCORE is an online focus programme of the European Film Academy, curated exclusively for Academy members and taking place on the Academy VOD platform. In co–operation with varying partners, additional elements of the programme can be visited on external platforms and are therefore accessible to a wider audience interested in European films.
Programme co-ordination – Pascal Edelmann
Community building – Ana López Vazquez
Editorial concept – Matthijs Wouter Knol