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The article is devoted to the Polish Film School. The origins of the phenomenon are presented against the background of Polish cinema in post­communist times. The author emphasizes the impact of Italian neo­realism upon the Polish Film School, which is strongly reflected in cinematography. Also similarities with and inspirations from German expressionism are traced. Critics’ opinions on the most significant films from the Polish Film School and the movement itself are cited.

The article deals with Polish cinema after the year 1989. Starting with the characteristics of Polish cinema before the period of transformations, the author continues with an analysis of the new cinema to distinguish four currents: “works of mourning” encompassing films which were meant as settling accounts or reconciliation with World War II and communism; “cinema of testimony” with special interest in films by Marcel Łoziński, but also mentioning others such as Kazimierz Karabasz and Jacek Blawut; “filmmakers young and old” based on three strategies of authorship, namely those of a fabulator (e.g. Krzysztof Kieślowski), a myth­biographer (e.g. Andrzej Kondratiuk, Marek Koterski and Marcin Koszałka), and an artist (e.g. Andrzej Barański, Dorota Kędzierzawska and Lech J. Majewski); and “popular cinema” with its four basic genres: action cinema, comedy, literary adaptation and romantic comedy.

The article presents Polish cinema after the reforms. The author begins with the origins of Polish cinematography in 1910 and follows with its evolution throughout the years. Special interest is focused on the effects of all state regulation acts on cinematography. Moreover, the most important Polish film institutions are mentioned. Various statistical data are adduced (e. g. film box office) from the years 1990 – 2005). Regional Funds established by the Polish Film Institute are further discussed as well as the workings of the Institute itself. The author concludes with the thought that changing as it constantly is, Polish cinema requires large­scale, awarded productions to attain world class.

The influence of Krzysztof Kieślowski on Polish post­communist cinema is discussed. The author refers to all events held in 2006 (the year of the 10^th anniversary of the director’s death). He stresses Kieślowski’s influence and reflects upon his cooperation with Krzysztof Piesiewicz. Also the effect Kieślowski had on such directors as Michał Rosa, Jerzy Stuhr, Iwona Siekierzyńska, to name but a few, is indicated.

In the theoretical part of the article the author discusses the notion of cultural equivalency from the perspective of the polysystem theory, proposed by Gideon Toury, Jose Lambert and Itamar Even­Zohar. The theory assumes that literature is a formal dynamic functional system, and that the translation of a literary work of art rejects the requirement of adequacy for the sake of acceptability.

The point of departure for the analytical part of the text is the concept of adaptation as translation, which refers to the polysystem theory and has been developed by Patrick Cattrysse and Alicja Helman. The analysis of the English version of the novel, written by Dorota Masłowska and titled Snow White and Russian Red (Polish: Wojna polsko­ruska pod flagą biało­czerwoną), shows the scale of difficulty which the translator, Benjamin Paloff, experienced in order to generate the target text “rooted” in the target culture. In case of subtitles the equivalency is even more difficult to achieve, mainly because of the problem of reduction of the original dialogue to a couple of lines printed on the bottom of the shot. The author of the article shows what type of equivalences both – the translator of the novel into English, and the author of subtitles selected in order to achieve the goal.

The starting point is the explanation of how Zofia Nałkowska got the story idea for her most famous book Medallions while working on the Committee for Investigation of Nazi War Crimes in Poland. The author then proceeds to analyse Andrzej Brzozowski’s études. She focuses on “By the Railway Track” describing in detail the plot and the vicissitudes of the film before it was relased. The film holds a special place in Polish history as it was shelved in the archives for 28 years.

The article is a résumé of Mariusz Grzegorzek’s work. We are presented with detailed descriptions of the tricks and techniques applied in each of his movies: his first short film Krakatau, The Conversation with a Man from the Closet, The Queen of Angels, and I Am Yours. The author points to the director’s inspirations and the rise of his ideas, and interprets most meaningful scenes.

The article focuses on growing presence of Polish labour immigrants in contemporary European cinema and TV fiction. Striking differences are observed between pre­1989 and post­1989 productions on the subject of labour migration. Whereas older films tend to depict Polish job­seekers as unfortunate troublemakers, films set in the post­communist period seem to convey increased social interaction between newcomers and local people which need not be hostile. This is usually represented by a motif of an interethnic love story. As such, recent European productions depart from the traditional portrayal of immigrants in post­war Polish film “as an anomaly from the norm and a problem for which somebody is to blame,” as Ewa Mazierska puts it (2009; 123). Similarly, post­1989 representations of Polish labour migrants in European cinema differ significantly from the image created in recent Polish drama series Londyńczycy (Londoners, 2008–2009) where stress is laid on the strong cohesive spirit within the Polish migrant community rather than the motif of a (happy) interethnic romance.

In her book Lords of Imagination: Lead Characters in Polish Film, from which we quote extensive fragments, the author refers to the screen protagonists who live on in our imagination. The author shows how they embody viewers’ dreams, desires and hopes. In successive chapters, the lineage of characters and hilarious anecdotes about characters and actors can be found. For this issue we reprinted fragments concerning Maciek Chełmicki (Diamond and Ashes), Andrzej Kmicic (Deluge), Henryk Kwinto (Vabank and Vabank II), and Franz Mauer (Dogs and Dogs II).

The article contrasts small european cinemas and large such as Hollywood cinema. The author discusses the issues of the international conference European Visions. Small Cinemas in Transition to be held at the University of Western Ontario in June 2010. The analysis of contemporary Polish productions leads to the conclusion about how vague the border is between naming a cinema “big” or “small”, “universal” or “local” and how relevant issues of national identity have become in recent years.

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Strängnäs Cathedral, located in an old town 80 km from Stockholm, houses a rich 17^th century library. In the collection are mainly spoils of the Thirty Years’ War, including Polonica. Altogether, the library stocks 2000 volumes comprising 4000 titles, most of which are written in Latin and German. In addition to theological dissertations and Bible translations are books on such subjects as law, history, philosophy, medicine, mathematics and grammar. The Polish collection, which was brought over mainly from Olomouc, is relatively small, but early and not known well. On the author’s initiative, it is now being studied within the auspices of the project “Polonica in the Cathedral Library in Strängnäs”.

The article reviews a computer programme called Frazpol which is a teaching aid designed especially for foreigners. The name comes from the phrase “Frazeologia polska” (Polish phraseology). The author begins with some observations on the significance of teaching phraseology of a foreign language. Detailed description of the programme is provided along with an explanation of how its tools can be used in the teaching process.

The article deals with the ten most interesting films shown in cinemas in 2009. The author analyzes strong and weak points of each film and tries to justify her choice. The reader will find reviews of such titles as: Dom zły (The Dark House), Rewers (Reverse), Wszystko co kocham (All That I Love), Tatarak (Sweet Rush), Wojna polsko­ruska (Polish Russian War/Snow­White and Russian Red), Kochaj i tańcz (Love and Dance), Drzazgi (Splinters), Królik po berlińku (Rabbit à la Berlin), Ile waży koń trojański (How Much Does the Trojan Horse Weight?), and Galerianki (Mall Girls).

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