An internationally-acclaimed phenomenon, Polish film posters are a movement that spanned from the early 1950’s to the late 1980’s. Its beginnings stemmed from the Communist period when Poland was cut off from the Western world, and thus left to develop and nurture its own cultural identity.





Two main institutions - the Polish Film Commission and the Movie Rentals Central - commissioned Polish artists to create movie posters promoting local and International films to Polish audiences. Without the fear of artistic scrutiny or compromise, the commissioned artists jumped at the opportunity to take a more individualized approach towards making each poster a personal statement. The results were, without a doubt, much more than just promotional tools.





As opposed to Western movie posters of the time that typically depicted stills from the film, the Polish film poster was a much more expressive and striking visual representation which, in most cases, focused on communicating the core essence of the film through the use of graphics. Each poster is a single piece of art, reflecting a combination of the artist’s personal style and symbolism drawn from mass culture and literature.