(Hi)Story for the Youngest. Adaptations of Children’s Literature Made by Polish Female Directors

Abstrakt

In this article the author focuses on the subgenre of historical film for children and adolescents directed in the Polish People’s Republic by female directors. In the 50s and 60s most of the Polish films dedicated for young audience were an adaptation of popular novels often based on historical events. As Piotr Kurpiewski points out: “the director’s intent behind those historical productions was strictly educational, and it aimed primarily for the young viewers to obtain some knowledge of history through watching the film.” But historical productions for children were not only captivating for the young audience, but also for the directors. Especially for female directors.

The main goal of this article is to present how that trivialized genre, of which examples were basically used as educational materials or treated as unserious fairytales, helped female directors speak in their own voices and give them opportunities to present past from their own perspectives.