No friendship is ever truly equal – especially friendships between different countries – and Ewa Ciszewska’s book on Polish-Czechoslovak cultural transfers between 1945 and 1970 attests to this fact. The author closely examines the types of exchanges between the two countries in the realm of cinema, demonstrating admirable literacy in archival research and in-depth knowledge of the Polish and Czechoslovak film industries under socialism. At the centre of her focus are not the cinematic fruits of Polish-Czechoslovak affinity, but rather the “face-to-face encounters” between individuals involved in the project of socialist film internationalism. This emphasis on the extratextual over the textual is the book’s most significant contribution.
When, in 2014, two researchers, Piotr Zwierzchowski and Krzysztof Kornacki, thundered against the ahistorical nature of cinema studies in Poland, they nailed the problem.1 Despite the increasing popularity of “New Film History,” many Polish film scholars remained focused on extensive close reading and textual analysis, often removed from historical realities, rather than on moviegoing, or film production and distribution. Ten years have passed since their publication, and the situation has undoubtedly improved – largely thanks to the group of researchers working at the Department of Film and Audio-Visual Media at the University of Łódź. Over the past few years, they have published monographs and articles on censorship, distribution, and historical film production, grounding their research projects in archival inquiry. Ewa Ciszewska is part of that environment, having long focused on Polish-Czechoslovak exchanges in the cinematic realm. In short, Ciszewska’s book is a solid building block in the still-under-construction edifice of “New Film History” in Poland.
The book explores several key aspects of intercultural cooperation: the educational mobility of Polish students pursuing film training in Czechoslovakia, the Polish presence at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, the organisation of conferences, and, to a lesser extent, film co-productions, or their notable absence. The breadth of primary sources Ciszewska draws upon to support her narrative of the Polish-Czechoslovak “alliance of convenience” is impressive. These sources range from press and magazine articles published in both countries to less accessible documents, lists, and reports preserved across various archives. She also makes an effort to interview film professionals or their surviving relatives, including actress Barbara Połomska and the sons of Jan Jacoby.
Although some aspects, such as private meetings and informal conversations, must remain speculative, Ciszewska uses these primary sources to construct a compelling narrative: in the Polish-Czechoslovak film relationship, Czechoslovakia most often appeared as the giver – training future Polish directors at FAMU, creating networking opportunities at the Karlovy Vary festival, and possessing a modern film studio that postwar Poland could only aspire to – while Poland more frequently took on the role of the taker. With its modern, undamaged Barrandov Studios and a strong cadre of film professionals, many of whom survived the Second World War, Czechoslovakia became a destination for Poles seeking to build and train a new generation of film talent. It was not only Aleksander Ford, the tsar of postwar Polish cinema, who tirelessly pursued opportunities in Czechoslovakia. Several FAMU-educated specialists – among them Jerzy Kotowski, Krystyna Dobrowolska, and Kazimierz Konrad – were, as Ciszewska argues, instrumental in the professionalisation of Polish animation.
The final chapter – spanning approximately 77 pages, or more than a third of the book – is the longest and arguably the most substantial, offering a multifaceted exploration of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival and its role in promoting Polish film artists. More than merely tracing the Polish presence at the festival, it delves into the mechanisms of the socialist star system, with particular attention to the careers of actors Barbara Połomska, Lucyna Winnicka, and Anna Prucnal. The chapter stands out for its depth, showing that the festival functioned not so much as a celebration of “socialist brotherhood” between Poland and Czechoslovakia, but rather as a strategic platform for the Polish film industry to pursue its aspirations for broader international recognition – hence, a case of “pragmatic friendship.”
In light of the exhaustive archival research the author undertakes, the first chapter comes across as both the most underdeveloped (only about 14 pages) and, paradoxically, the most important. Titled “Conditions for Film Cooperation between Poland and Czechoslovakia,” it begins with a brief contextualization of the political foundations of cinematic exchange between the two countries, then shifts to a section on Barrandov – presented as a “Slavic Hollywood” – and concludes with a focused discussion of Aleksander Ford’s work at the Barrandov studio. These three subtopics effectively underscore the significance of the Czechoslovak film industry; however, the author stops short of fully explaining its evolving role for Poland beyond the immediate postwar years. In other words, although the book promises a narrative spanning 1945 to 1970, this foundational chapter does not extend beyond the early 1950s, creating a noticeable imbalance with the rest of the monograph. Was the prestige of Barrandov diminished in the eyes of Polish filmmakers as Poland’s own film industry gradually developed? Was Ford the only filmmaker actively pursuing projects at Barrandov? These questions remain unanswered, leaving the reader wishing for a more comprehensive treatment of the period promised in the book’s scope.
Overall, Ciszewska’s book stands as a milestone in the field of new film history, offering a compelling model for research that maps the sticky web of international connections rather than defaulting to the well-trodden framework of “national cinemas.” By foregrounding the pragmatic dimensions of Polish-Czechoslovak exchanges, driven more by individual artistic ambitions than by top-down ideological mandates, it opens up a nuanced understanding of socialist-era cultural cooperation. This is a work that not only deepens our knowledge of regional film histories but also calls for further comparative research into transnational networks. Highly recommended – and all the more regrettable that it is not written in English.
Paulina Duda
Brown University
paulina_duda@brown.edu
Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology
paulina.duda@pjwstk.edu.pl
Paulina Duda is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Slavic Studies at Brown University and an Assistant Professor in the New Media Arts Department at the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology in Warsaw. She earned her PhD from the University of Michigan, her MA from University College London, and her BA from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Her research focuses on the intersection of nationalism and filmmaking in Poland, film production and international collaboration during the communist era, the role of the director in society, and the aesthetics of music videos. She publishes scholarly articles, translations, and reviews in The Polish Review, Studies in Eastern European Cinema, East European Film Bulletin, and Words Without Borders. She also serves as a jury member for the long-running Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival. She is the recipient of numerous scholarships and fellowships, including awards from the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA), the Kosciuszko Foundation, the Rackham International Research Award, and the Copernicus Endowment Fellowship.
Duda, Paulina. 2025. Review: “Ewa Ciszewska: Practical Friends: Poland and Czechoslovakia in the Cold War Project of Socialist Film Internationalism in the Years 1945–1970”. Apparatus. Film, Media and Digital Cultures in Central and Eastern Europe 21. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.17892/app.2025.00020.403.
URL: http://www.apparatusjournal.net/
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