About the Film

A note from producer Andrea Marks

This project began over 20 years ago and in that time, I have found a rich world of Polish poster enthusiasts throughout the world. The following is a brief recap as to how I began this wonderful journey…

I am often asked, Why Poland? I became interested in Polish posters in 1997, when a colleague and I received a grant from Oregon State University to work on an exchange project with students from OSU and The Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. This project lead to my fascination with Polish posters and I began to consider ways in which I could collaborate with Polish artists on a project. A film documentary seemed to be the best way to capture the extraordinary stories of the artists, with the visual power and beauty of the posters. 

In November 1998, Independent filmmaker Glenn Holsten and I traveled to Poland to meet with artists, curators, teachers and collectors. This initial pre-production trip was very successful and exciting for everyone involved. The artists we spoke with were very enthusiastic about our project and all of them felt there was a great need for this important piece of Polish history to be documented on film. 

In July 2002, Glenn, videographer Jeff Hino and I returned to Poland to interview artists, curators, and poster dealers in Warsaw and Cracow, including a rare interview with the undisputed master of the Polish School of Posters, Henryk Tomaszewski. While in Warsaw, we screened and selected rarely seen archival footage that brings life to the powerful stories gathered in our interviews. Such footage includes dramatic scenes of post war Warsaw, imagery of posters on the streets of Poland in the 50s 60s and 70s, and scenes of the classrooms and studios of Polish poster artists. 

Little did I know when I embarked on this project, that the making of this film would bring me such rich and inspiring learning about an important part of design history I knew too little about. Over the course of a decade, I worked with many talented people to bring the artists stories to life with the result being a 40 minute documentary. 

The film has been screened at film festivals, universities, AIGA events and exhibitions over the years and was included in the 2009 Polish Poster exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It now resides in the museum’s permanent collection.

See the purchase link for details on how to access the film.