Ewa Mazierska is Professor of Contemporary Cinema, Department of Humanities, University of Central Lancashire. Her publications include numerous articles in Polish and English and several books, such as Dreams and Diaries: The Cinema of Nanni Moretti (Wallflower Press, London, 2004) and From Moscow to Madrid: Postmodern Cities, European Cinema (IB Tauris, 2003, London) (both co-authored with Laura Rascaroli). She also co-edited Relocating Britishness (MUP, 2004).

“… an important contribution to film studies not only in Poland, but in Eastern and Central Europe in general. The authors demonstrate that women are both revered and despised in Polish culture, a phenomenon Mazierska and Ostrowska attribute to the persistence of overt patriarchy in both social relations and culture. This system of thought, they aver, has ‘shaped and policed the lives of Polish women’ for generations.”  ·  Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television“…well researched and elegantly written. It should be of great interest to scholars interested in both Polish cinema criticism and feminist studies.”  ·   Slavic Review“This important book utilizes temporary feminist discourse on women’s cinema with debates specific for the Polish cinematic, cultural, and socio-political context…Carefully researched and lucidly written, the book offers a new perspective on Polish cinema and will no doubt be the primary source for any scholar interested in gender issues in the Polish context.”  ·   Marek Haltof in Canadian Slavonic Papers“Combining freshness of focus with close, penetrating analysis, Women in Polish Cinema is a contribution to East European film studies at once innovative and exemplary.”  · Kinema

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsIntroductionEwa Mazierska and Elzbieta OstrowskaPART I: THE POLISH MOTHERChapter 1. The Myth of the Polish MotherJoanna SzwajcowskaPART II: WOMEN ACCORDING TO MENChapter 2. Filmic Representations of the Myth of the Polish MotherElzbieta OstrowskaChapter 3. Polish ‘Superwoman’: a Liberation or Victimisation?Elzbieta OstrowskaChapter 4. Caught between Activity and Passivity: Women in the Polish SchoolElzbieta OstrowskaChapter 5. Agnieszka and Other Solidarity Heroines of Polish CinemaEwa MazierskaChapter 6. Witches, Bitches and Other Victims of the Crisis of Masculinity: Women in Polish Postcommunist CinemaEwa MazierskaChapter 7. Between Fear and Attraction: Images of ‘Other’ WomenElzbieta OstrowskaPART III: WOMEN BEHIND THE CAMERAChapter 8. Wanda Jakubowska: the Communist FighterEwa MazierskaChapter 9. Barbara Sass: the Author of Women’s FilmsEwa MazierskaChapter 10. Agnieszka Holland: a ScepticElzbieta OstrowskaChapter 11. Dorota Kêdzierzawska: Ambivalent FeministEwa MazierskaFilmographyBibliographyIndex