Polish Migrants in European Film 1918–2017

Kris Van Heuckelom is Professor of Polish Studies and Cultural Studies at KU Leuven, Belgium. He specialises in late modern Polish culture, with a particular focus on comparative and transnational perspectives, and has published several books, edited volumes and anthologies in these domains.

“The first thing to recommend the book is the timespan it covers. … He is able to cover such a long period without losing focus … . The book’s greatest virtue, however, lies in the author’s inherently dialectical approach: time and again, he reminds us that the image constructed of the Other reveals more about the host society than about the newcomers.” (Masha Shpolberg, ZSPH Zeitschrift für Slavische Philologie, Vol. 78 (1), 2022)“This study … is written for students of film, but it provides an interesting counterpoint to studies based on Polish emigration itself. How Poles have been viewed by residents of the host countries over the last century of emigration for political, social, and economic reasons provides insight into Polish migration and its role in the national identity.” (Gerard T. Kapolka, The Polish Review, Vol. 66 (1), 2021)“The book could also be read as a tacit call for more variegated portrayals of expats (expat intellectuals, forexample) that do more than merely confirming what Western European viewers might already know of Eastern Europe.” (Ewa Stańczyk, Studies in European Cinema, November 17, 2020)

• 1. Introduction: Poles of Attraction.- 2. Polish Entertainers and Entertaining Polishness: Staging Expatriates in Interwar Cinema (1918-1939).- 3. From Expatriation through Defection to Immigration: Polish Characters in Wartime and Cold War Film (1940-1980).- 4. Screening (Non-)Solidarity, Now and Before: Polish Immigrants in Late Cold War Film (1980-1989).- 5. Building Capitalism With(out) a Human Face: Polish Migrants in Post-Communist Film (1990-2004).- 6. Modernisation through Europeanisation? Polish “Free Movers” in Post-Enlargement Film (2005-2017).- 7. Conclusion: The Great Emigration(s) revisited.