Dekada Zjazdu w Kamieniu Śląskim
Ten Years After the Conference in Kamień Śląski

Summary/Abstract: In her book Od Wydziału Propagandy Filmowej do Centralnego Urzędu Kinematografii. Pierwsza dekada partyjno-państ-wowego monopolu w polskim kinie [From the Department ofFilm Propaganda to the Central Office of Cinema: The FirstDecade of Party-State Monopoly in Polish Cinema] (2022),Ewa Gębicka describes one of the most ambiguous periodsin the history of Central European film: the years 1944-1955.She argues that the periodization accepted in film studies –the chaotic reign of filmmakers (1944-1947) followed by theoffensive of political power (1948-1955) is accurate. Her as-sessment of the entire decade is critical: she pictures thepostwar decade as a period of disregard for the autonomy ofart, the needs of the audience, and the alleged free-marketessence of cinema. Her conclusions are grounded in archivalresearch. And since Gębicka has done massive work, thereis a temptation to accept it as a given. However, her inter-pretations deserve a dialogue. The historiographical poeticsshe represents should be understood as emblematic of the changing ways of studying the cinema of the Polish People’sRepublic, with all their advantages and ambivalences.

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