Близькі незнайомці. Образ України в польському кіно після 1989 року

Abstract

CLOSE STRANGERS. THE IMAGE OF UKRAINE IN POLISH CINEMA AFTER 1989

This text happens to be an attempt to look at the image of Ukraine in Polish cinema after the political and social changes of 1989. The big part of the article focuses on TV documentaries which come back to the most significant moments of common Polish-Ukrainian history and tell us stories of people who were equally important for both cultures. The text deals also with a difficult subject of cultural  superiority, ignorance and neocolonial stereotypes reflected by some Polish films about Ukraine and Ukrainian people. On the other hand, the article also analyses well-known documentaries, such as Piano by Vita Drygas or The Dybbuk. A Tale of Wandering Souls by Krzysztof Kopczyński. The author is convinced that both films are able to combine high artistic values with an empathic view of the modern Ukrainian reality and the country’s complicated past. The article ends with a conclusion that those documentaries can be treated as the role models for future Polish films about Ukraine.
Translated by Piotr Czerkawski