Poland

The history of cinema in Poland is almost as long as history of cinematography, and it has universal achievements, even though Polish movies tend to be less commercially available than movies from several other European nations. From 1955 onwards, the works of directors of the so-called Polish Film School had a great influence on the contemporary trends such as French New Wave, Italian neorealism or even late Classical Hollywood cinema. After World War II, despite censorship, filmmakers like Roman Polanski, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Agnieszka Holland, Andrzej Wajda, Andrzej Żuławski impacted the development of the cinematography. In more recent years, while no longer struggling with censorship, and with a large number of independent filmmakers of all genres, Polish productions tend to be more inspired by American film.

The first cinema in Poland (then occupied by the Russian Empire) was founded in Łódź in 1899, several years after the invention of the Cinematograph. Arguably the first Polish filmmaker was Kazimierz Prószyński, who filmed various short documentaries in Warsaw. His pleograph film camera has been patented already before the Lumière brothers' invention and he is credited as the author of the earliest surviving Polish documentary, as well as the first short narrative films. The earliest surviving feature film, the Antoś Pierwszy Raz w Warszawie was made in 1908 by Antoni Fertner. Soon Polish artists started experimenting with other genres of cinema: in 1910 Władysław Starewicz made one of the first animated cartoons in the world - and the first to use the stop motion technique. During the WWI the Polish cinema crossed borders. Films made in Warsaw or Vilna were often rebranded with German language intertitles and shown in Berlin.

In November 1945 the communist government founded the film monopoly Film Polski and put well-known filmmaker Aleksander Ford in charge. Its output was limited, only thirteen features released between 1947 and its dissolution in 1952 and concentrated on Polish suffering at the hands of the Nazis. By the mid 1950s the increasingly liberal political climate gave rise to the Polish Film School movement, a training ground for some of the icons of the world cinematography.

Andrzej Wajda's films offer insightful analyses of the universal element of the Polish experience - the struggle to maintain dignity under the most trying circumstances. His films defined several Polish generations. It is also important to note that during the 80's, the People's Republic of Poland instituted the martial law to vanquish and censor all forms of opposition against the communist rule of the nation, including outlets such as cinema and radio. A notable film to have emerged during this period was Ryszard Bugajski's 1982 film Interrogation. A considerable number of Polish film directors have worked in American studios. Animated films drew on a long tradition and continued to derive their inspiration from Poland's graphic arts.