Polish
Cinema After 1989: An Industrial Survey
Polish
Cinema After 1989: An Industrial Survey
With a population of forty million and a land base roughly the size of New Mexico, Poland is by far the largest country in Central Europe. Four times as populous as Hungary or the Czech Republic, with nearly four times the land mass, Poland has found itself in the geographical role of buffer-state between Germany and the USSR. With the end of the Cold War, Poland has shifted from the Soviet to the German economic sphere of influence. However, the countries' relationship is uneasy at best, with border disputes, Nazi occupation (and subsequent deployment of concentration camps to Polish sites such as Auschwitz) during World War II, and recent concerns over German unification all complicating factors.
After martial law was gradually lifted in 1982-1983, Poland set a course of economic liberalization similar to that of Hungary; though markets never caught up to Hungarian levels, they nonetheless were far more "open" than East Germany or Czechoslovakia, for example. For the film industry, this meant that by the mid-1980s a greater market access for popular Western films, though still tempered by government censors, was a reality. By this time, however, the momentum generated by the "Cinema of Moral Concern" had effectively been diffused. But as the Cold War came to a close in the late 1980s, the film industry was yet again forced to re-orient itself to new conditions. This was certainly something Polish cinema had proven itself capable of doing: In a sense, the end of totalitarian rule was only the latest in a series of politically tumultuous periods in which motion picture industry had been forced to significantly alter its operations.
Poland could boast of a robust motion picture industry throughout the 1920s and 1930s, which included a thriving avant-garde movement. However, World War II took a monumental toll on the industry: Poland's cinematic infrastructure had been decimated, its studios destroyed, and its cinemas abandoned. Indeed, when Poland's motion picture industry was nationalized in 1945, it was more a pronouncement of future intent than anything else. Thus, the double challenge that accompanied this pronouncement was the necessity of building the industry back up from scratch while simultaneously training a new generation of filmmakers.
These efforts took a full decade to come to fruition. Michalek and Turaj place 1955 as the beginning of the modern era in Polish cinema on the basis of three considerations. First, there existed a more open political and cultural atmosphere, directly traceable to the death of Soviet leader Josef Stalin in 1953. Artists and politicians alike voiced opposition to the schematic imposition of socialist-realist tenets in cinema and literature, resulting in increasing creative freedoms unhindered by bureaucratic dogmatism. Second, film production was reorganized around the concept of autonomous film units, as had been called for by Poland's pre-war avant-garde. These units received annual budgetary funding from the government, deciding within a given unit both what they would be producing and how they would be producing it. Third, the film school in Lodz was ensuring that the industry would have a steady supply of film professionals. Indeed, nearly 70% of Polish film industry professionals by 1955 were Lodz graduates.[1]
These three factors converged to create what became known as the "Polish School" of filmmaking in the mid-1950s. Polish School films were characterized by their attempts to portray "real life" without idealization or romanticism, a focus on Poland's recent war-torn history (World War II/German occupation, the immediate post-war experience, et al.), and a tendency to explore the psychological inner-reality of its characters. The most prominent directors emerging from this period were Andrzej Wajda (A Generation [1955], Ashes and Diamonds [1958]) and Andrzej Munk (Man on the Track [1956], Eroica [1957]).
The subsequent "second generation" of filmmakers came to be known as the Polish New Wave, after the influence the French nouvelle vague had on their films. They could just as easily have been known as the "lost generation": due to mounting political repression in the 1960s, one by one the top new wave directors either emigrated in the hopes of continuing their work abroad, or remained in Poland but were barred by the government from filmmaking. Roman Polanski, better known in the West for Hollywood films such as Rosemary's Baby (1968) and Chinatown (1974), made only his debut feature (Knife in the Water [1962]) in Poland before emigrating. The other major new wave director was Jerzy Skolimowski, who not only wrote the screenplay for Knife in the Water, but also directed Identification Marks: None (1964) and Hands Up! (1967) before emigrating as well.
Poland suffered a period of crisis and extreme tension from 1968-1971. Student demonstrations in 1968 were violently put down by government troops; three years later, worker revolts in Gdansk and Poland's north were likewise quashed. The cinematic production units were briefly disbanded during this time, resulting in the drop of production levels to under 20 films per year. However, political stabilization and liberalization in the 1970s created a favorable situation for the film units. With top directors (rather than bureaucrats) heading the units, Polish film once again aggressively explored modern societal issues.
Thus the films of the 1970s and early 1980s, which came to be known as the "Cinema of Moral Concern," consistently displayed "a concern for moral issues related to political and social problems and for the morality of politics and political decisions."[2] New filmmakers such as Krzysztof Kieslowski (Camera Buff [1979]), Ryszard Bugajski (The Interrogation [1981]), and Agnieszka Holland (Fever [1981]) appeared on the scene, and veteran directors such as Wajda (Man of Marble [1977]) and Krzysztof Zanussi (Camouflage [1977]) produced films which equaled their best previous works. With martial law declared in 1981, the industry yet again suffered setbacks; however, the government's actions were decidedly less heavy-handed than in the past. Although two of the more politically active film units ("X" and "Silesia") were dissolved, the film unit structure as a whole remained in place. Directors who wished to work abroad during martial law (such as Wajda, Holland, and Zanussi) were allowed travel with a minimum of bureaucratic harassment. In addition, two new training facilities established: the Irzykowski Film Studio (modeled on the Bela Balasz Studio of Hungary, where new directors could make their first feature largely sheltered from state restrictions); and the Film and Television School at Katowice. Along with the Lodz school, these new facilities served as a training ground for yet another generation of filmmakers, such as Julian Machulski (Sex Mission [1984]) and Radoslaw Piwowarski (Yesterday [1985])--though no-one could have prepared them for the fundamental political, social, and professional changes they were about to experience.
The 1992 Polish Film Festival took place under a cloud of uncertainty. Despite a hefty 34 films from the past year being on display, worries abounded that this would be the last time such a number of films would be produced, with young directors getting squeezed out as a result. However, the 1993 festival displayed 28 new films--one-fourth of them debuts. Moreover, the international jury awarded an "unprecedented" 50% of the festival awards to debuting filmmakers. Filip Zybler's Farewell to Maria won five awards, while Mariusz Grzegorczyk's Conversation with a Cupboard Man, which had already been well received in Venice and other international competitions, won three.[3]
The Polish film industry at this time is in crisis, but then everything in Poland is in a crisis.
--Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994[4]
While the Polish industry may have suffered through a funding crisis in the early 1990s, production levels did plummet to direly predicted levels. The production levels described in Table 1 (see below) testify instead to a short-term period of adjustment from 1988-1990, with production levels falling briefly, rebounding to higher levels once again in the early 1990s. Indeed, the number of productions bottomed out in 1990 with 22 completed films; but by 1994 the levels were once again topping 30 productions annually. The brevity of this production drop can be largely attributed to aggressive governmental support (both production financing and development funding) which eased the motion picture industry's transition into the post-Cold War era. While by no means completely out of economic danger, the industry does appear to have successfully absorbed the initial economic shock of newly-opened economic markets in the early 1990s.
Table 1: Annual number of Polish productions, 1987-1994
year Number of productions
1987 37
1988 n/a
1989 28
1990 22
1991 25
1992 28
1993 28
1994 32
(Sources: 1989 and 1990 Variety International Film Guides;
Hollywood Reporter 11 Jan. 1994; New York Times 11 Jan. 1995.)
The concerted efforts of the Polish industry in general and Dabrowski in particular to attract Western productions paid off royally when they succeeded in recruiting director Steven Spielberg to do location shooting for Schindler's List in Krakow. The excitement and attention generated by this film placed Poland on the Hollywood map in a way no other film had ever done. Not only did List receive the Academy Award for best picture in 1994, but several of its Polish crew also received Oscars for their contributions: Allan Starski, who had worked on Holland's Oscar-nominated Europa, Europa (1991) as well as numerous Wajda films, shared the award for set design with Ewa Braun, and Janusz Kaminski also won for best photography. It is too early at this point to judge the full impact of Schindler's List on international usage of Polish studios, but it certainly puts them on the inside track in the region's competition for Western funds.
Under the communist system, there was no staff position equivalent to that of a film's producer, someone to secure budget funding, put together packages of "above the line talent" (e.g., stars, directors, scriptwriters), etc. Rather, the film units functioned as self-sufficient talent pools, with the State providing full funding in the form of annual grants. With film budgets now being created out of a patchwork of grants, loans, and investments, the producer has rapidly become a crucial position in the filmmaking process--so rapidly, in fact, that demand for competent producers far outweighs the supply. As Dabrowski points out, "We had to re-create the idea of producers in our film making. We had cinematography directors who were only interested in artistic success. I had to make it clear from the start that the producer manages things from start to finish--that selling a film is much more difficult than making one."[8]
Nearly all Polish films produced after 1989 have received a $250,000 government grant, awarded by the Ministry of Culture on the basis of submitted script proposals. Despite the comparatively low shooting costs, it is still necessary for producers to seek out outside funds. With investment capital scarce in Central Europe, this funding is most often coming from Western sources in the form of governmental agency grants or private investment. Investment capital in the East is scarce, and have consistently proven to not be a short-term investment. Table 2 (see below) shows that while public subsidies continue to help fund nearly all films in production, television has become an increasingly important funding source in recent years. The two state-run channels have been working to abide by the 1994 legislative mandate which calls for 60% of state broadcasting to be Polish programming. Seeing films as a viable programming option, the channels have been exchanging films' budget funding for future broadcast rights. Interestingly, the percentage of co-productions actually decreased in this survey period, perhaps as a result of increased television sponsorship.
Table 2: Funding Sources for Polish Films, 1992-1994.
Date Co- Government
Surveyed Prod+ Productions % TV % Subsidy %
3/92 12 8 67 4 33 n/a n/a
9/92 28 18 64 11 39 " "
2/93 29 15 52 13 45 27 93
9/93 24 10 42 17 71 20 83
1/94 21 n/a n/a 16 76 18 86
7/94 8 " " 7 88 8 100
Note: "Prod+" is for all films in production, post-production, or due for release. Subsidies include Polish or any other governmental funding, as well as various EC umbrella-organizations. (Source: Screen Finance)
As in the other Central European countries, co-productions have been a major factor in Polish film production in the past five years; unlike Hungary or the Czech Republic, however, Poland's primary co-production partner is not France but Germany.[9] Poland also received funding moneys from pan-European agencies such as Media 95 (begun by the European Union in 1990). Begun in December 1990, the Media program was an umbrella agency for no less than 17 different funds, attempting to "stimulate European production, improve its quality, and bolster its competitive position" by awarding loans (not grants) to projects with commercial and artistic potential. By pooling European funds, Media 95 strove for an economy of scale such as utilized by Hollywood; however, with an annual budget of just over $50 million (the approximate cost of a single Hollywood blockbuster) to aid over 200 films per year, the effects on any one film was limited. Media 95 initially awarded funding loans under a "doctrine of non-proportionality"--that is to say, regardless of whether or not a given country had contributed to the fund. This policy was clearly beneficial to the Central European countries, making loans available to its filmmakers without the monetary cost of membership; however, this policy drew enough criticism within the EU to force its rescission for the renewal of Media 95's five-year budget. A new payment structure for non-member countries will probably price out poorer East European countries, but Poland may still be able to afford utilizing this resource.[10]
The top veteran directors have responded by either moving their production work to the West, or simply retiring. Andrej Wajda, now in his mid-60s, made a conscious decision to finish his career in Poland rather than learn a new system in foreign lands. He directed Korszak (1990) and The Horsehair Ring (1993) before retiring from film to focus on theatrical work. Krzysztof Kieslowski earned international acclaim with The Double Life of Veronique (1991), a French-Polish co-production, and continued to work in France with the Three Colors trilogy: Blue (1993), White (1994), and Red (1994), released in this order at Cannes, Venice and Berlin. Each of these French-Polish-Swiss co-productions was a meditation on a part of the French motto "Fraternity, Liberty, Equality," but Kieslowski insists that the only reason he is working in France is the matter of funding, and that these themes are present everywhere, saying, "The concepts themselves are just pretexts to make films."[12] He announced his retirement in 1994. Agnieszka Holland began work in the West with Europa, Europa (1991, Germany), and followed with Olivier, Olivier (1992, France) before making the jump to Hollywood with an adaptation of one of her favorite childhood books, The Secret Garden (1993). Krzysztof Zanussi directed a British-Polish co-production of Touch (1992), but has concentrated most of his recent efforts on film administration.
While these veterans were working elsewhere, younger Polish directors began to assert themselves at home. The success of debuting directors at the 1993 Polish Film Festival served notice that a new generation of filmmakers could succeed in the new economic climate. One additional film from that year which did not receive much critical acclaim but nonetheless found an enthusiastic, young audience was Wladyslaw Pasikowski's Pigs. The film's anti-hero is an ex-secret service officer attempting to chart his way through the lies and corruption of the new times. Variety reported that Pigs was the only domestically-made film to claim over 300,000 Polish admissions in 1992 and first-quarter 1993--yet it was still unable to meet production costs. The 1994 sequel Pigs II also topped domestic-release box-office figures, drawing 670,000 ticket buyers.[13]
There are only a handful of companies distributing domestic Polish films (Film Arts Foundation, Syrena, Helios). However, numerous other companies quickly sprung up once the law allowed private distribution of Western product: there were some 50-odd distributors in 1992, while there were only a handful the year before. The pressure to obtain profitable Western films in such a crowded market resulted in a dramatic increase in distribution rights costs, increasing from $5,000 in 1991 to $35,000 in 1992--a trend that would weed out many new distributors.[16]
Several Hollywood studios have opted for establishing their own distribution centers within the country after frustrations with local companies. Warner Bros., for instance, took matters into its own hands after frustrations with Solopan, which owed back-revenue in upwards of $250,000. Solopan executives pointed to a 1993 law which has slowed the process for distributors to receive monies back from exhibitors--whereas before armored cars would make collection rounds, now all transactions had to be done via electronic bank transfers. Solopan head Szumlas argued that Warner officials didn't understand the realities of distribution in Poland: "I have explained this to them; they don't want to know. They just said that's my problem, but now they're learning it for themselves."[17]
Instead, exhibition entrepreneurs are leasing theaters from the state rather than buying the property outright. A mid-1994 survey found these theater ownership/management figures: 8.5% run by state distributors; 30% rented to private exhibitors; and 60% run by local administrators (i.e., municipal governments).[19] This leaves an extra 1.5%, which apparently consists of privately owned and operated cinemas. Regardless, these figures mean that over 98% of the theaters continue to be government property in some form or other. Given the multitude of budgetary considerations Poland has been facing, it comes as little surprise that capital improvements have been all but nonexistent.
Immediately after the Solidarity-led coalition rose to power in 1990, the state network of distribution and exhibition, Film Polski, was reorganized into regional hubs (but continued to be government-owned). For instance, MAX of Warsaw found themselves the owners of a group of theaters described as "undercapitalized, money-losing structures." MAX's response was to sell off all but a few of the most elegant cinemas; given the declining cinema attendance, many cinemas such as those sold were coveted for their real estate more than their structure, and were converted.[20] By Fall 1992, these regional exhibition hubs began to privatize their operations, with the 20-screen Silesia chain becoming employee-owned. Silesia quickly followed this with a series of buyouts to increase its coverage seven times (140 screens, or approximately 20% of the national market), giving it a virtual monopoly of the Silesia region in southwestern Poland. Silesia CEO Stan Izydorczyk, a former Film Polski executive, began to speak of bypassing distribution altogether. As had been done with Film Polski under nationalization, Izydorczyk envisioned distribution and exhibition occurring within one entity. In such a relatively small market, the argument goes, distributors are an unnecessary go-between which only raises film rental costs. Izydorczyk's plan, yet to be implemented, employs an economy of scale such that independent exhibitors would be squeezed out of the market if unable able to secure films in sufficient quantity.[21]
Table 3: Polish Box Office Figures, 1991-1993.
Top Ten Box Office of 1991 (ranked by admissions)
1. Dances With Wolves (USA) 983,000
2. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (USA) 965,000
3. Pretty Woman (USA) 533,000
4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (USA) 504,000
5. Look Who's Talking Too (USA) 376,000
6. Gremlins II (USA) 282,000
7. Flatliners (USA) 215,000
8. Ghostbusters (USA) 210,000 9. Cinderella (USA) 205,000
10. The Hunt For Red October (USA) 202,000 (Source: Screen Finance 3 June 1992)
Top 10 Box Office of 1992 (ranked by admissions)
1. Silence of the Lambs (USA) 541,000
2. Hook (USA) 510,000
3. Terminator II (USA) 472,000
4. Europa, Europa (Germany) 377,000
5. Alien III (USA) 310,000
6. Snow White/7 Dwarves (USA) 294,000
7. Pump Up the Volume (USA) 259,000
8. Basic Instinct (USA) 227,000
8. Hot Shots (USA) 227,000
10. The Doors ( USA) 195,000
(Source: 1993 Screen International Film/TV Directory)
Top 10 Box Office of 1993 (ranked by admissons)
1. Jurassic Park (USA) 2,700,000
2. Home Alone II (USA) 790,000
3. The Bodyguard (USA) 540,000
4. Hot Shots Part Deux (USA) 530,000
5. Bram Stoker's Dracula (USA) 480,000
6. Beauty & the Beast (USA) 360,000
7. Bitter Moon (UK-USA) 280,000
8. Scent of a Woman (USA) 260,000
9. Sliver (USA) 240,000
10. The Fugitive (USA) 230,000
(Source: 1994 Screen International Film/TV Directory)
In 1990, only three of the 20 most attended films in Poland were US-made, with domestic films making up 12 of the 20, including the top three. In 1991, all top 20 were American. The reason for this shift can be explained by the change in how Polish distributors paid for imported films. In the West, distributors rent films to exhibitors in exchange for a percentage of box office receipts; however, because of the state's film industry monopoly, Western interests could only deal directly with the distribution arm of Film Polski. Instead of a percentage deal, the state distributor would instead pay a flat fee for distribution rights within Poland. Because Film Polski's importation budget was small, it took a number of years for a given film's flat fee to decrease to affordable levels. By 1991, the state monopoly of film distribution was eliminated, which cleared the way for Western-style percentage deals. The result was that the six- to seven-year delays experienced by Polish audiences for films like Ghostbusters (originally released in 1984; the eighth-most attended film in Poland for 1990) slowly became a thing of the past: indeed, Terminator 2 and Dances With Wolves screened in Poland concurrently with their Western Europe releases.[23]
Polish attendance figures had been on a gradual decline since the late 1970s; however, in the years after 1988, the bottom has fallen out of the exhibition market (see Table 4). This almost instantaneous drop has been truly staggering in its severity: the 10.5 million admissions for 1992 were a mere one-tenth of the 1988 figures.
Table 4: Annual Polish Cinema Attendance, 1984-1994
Annual Admissions, Annual Differential,
Year in Millions of People as a Percentage (%)
1984 127 n/a
1985 107 -16.7
1986 100 - 6.5
1987 94.3 - 5.7
1988 95.3 + 1.1
1989 n/a n/a
1990 38 n/a[[daggerdbl]]
1991 18 -52.6
1992 10.5 -41.7
1993 13.5 +28.6
1994 16 +18.5
[[daggerdbl]]From 1988 to 1990, there was a 60.1% drop in theatrical admissions. (Sources: International Motion Picture Almanac
and Variety International Film Guide annuals)
The number of theaters has also dramatically fallen, though not by such a spectacular pace. Whereas the number of screens hovered around 2000 through the 1980s, by 1992 that number had been halved.[24] The remaining theaters have almost entirely opted for Hollywood fare. There is a sense of inevitability that once a Hollywood film reaches this market, its promotional machinery will work in such a way that domestic Polish product cannot compete. The economy of scale at work is such that Hollywood promotional budgets far outspend (and thus dominate) domestic films. Polish films simply have nowhere near the American level of money funneled into promotion, with the result that they have not been able to compete even in its indigenous market.
The fall in theatrical attendance can be attributed to several factors. First, the theaters themselves have fallen into a state of disrepair. Second, rising inflation coupled with heavy cuts in exhibition subsidies, have caused ticket prices to soar. This has created the untenable situation where the market cannot realistically bear more increases, while still leaving cinema owners (i.e., the State) in the red. Finally, the ancillary markets, the growing number of alternative home viewing technologies (such as cable, satellites, VCRs, etc.), have rapidly become Poland's film-viewing venue of choice.
In January 1994, the National Radio and Television Council (NRTC) awarded the first private national television license to the Polish firm Polsat over nine other international applicants--including Time-Warner. The victory by Polsat (which is 97% owned by businessman Zygmunt Solorz, one of the richest persons in Poland) was clearly unpopular with the Polish government's executive branch: President Lech Walesa had all but lobbied for the more politically-sympathetic Polonia network to receive the singular license. Soon after the decision, the NRTC chairman was removed from office by Walesa, raising a storm of controversy and even constitutional questions over presidential powers. Despite only reaching 80% of the country by March 1995, Polsat announced it was on schedule to reach profitability by 1999.[27]
Canal Plus Polska (a French-Polish venture) was also awarded a broadcasting license in January 1994, but for premium-satellite and pay-cable service. Targeting the 2.5 million homes that can receive satellite or cable, Canal Plus Polska began nationwide service in March 1995.[28] Also available via cable is the Polonia network, pay-TV channel Filmnet, as well as Western channels such as CNN et al. Two private regional broadcasting licenses are scheduled to be awarded in late 1995--including the lucrative central region encompassing Warsaw.[29]
Table 5: Polish Television Market Share, October 1994
Market Share,
Channel as a Percentage (%)
TVP1 50.9
TVP2 21.3
Polsat 7.8
Kanal Plus Polska 4.9
Polonia 3.8
(All Others) 11.3
(Source: Reuter Textline--Broadcast 7 Apr. 1995)
Despite market entries by Polsat, as well as new cable and satellite channels, the two state television channels (TVP1 and TVP2) still command the lion's share of viewers (see Table 5). The good news for the Polish film industry is that as of 1994, the government has mandated that these state channels carry a minimum of 60% Polish-produced programming.[30] The result has been a growing interdependency between television and film: TV channels provide funding in exchange for mandated programming. The percentage of films receiving television funding has steadily increased to the point where, by 1994, over three-quarters of the movies in production or later were receiving some degree of television funding. In exchange for backing these films, broadcasters received the rights to air these films--thus, they secured necessary new Polish-language programming at a fraction of the cost to otherwise produce ninety minutes of original material.
Video shops proliferated with the 1988 Act On Economic Activity, when it became necessary only to pay a nominal fee to the State to begin a private business. However, there were several business sectors, including videocassette rental, which necessitated additional permits and paperwork. Rapidly, video rental kiosks mushroomed around the country--but without the proper paperwork. Often, this paperwork included copyright licenses for the various individual works they had on the market. The Warsaw Voice attributed these activities as "mainly due to the level of public awareness developed during decades of communism. There is insufficient understanding among Poles that non-material goods are just as valuable as material ones, meaning that a movie or composition is protected by the law."[32]
Confusion over copyright issues could be traced back to the existing copyright law. Until 1994, the existing copyright legislation (passed in 1926 and amended in 1952) protected a given work's author, but not its producer or publisher. The 1994 legislation covers all intellectual property, extends protection to producers and distributors, extends the time covered from twenty-five to fifty years after the death of the author, and calls for offenders to be sentenced to five years in jail in addition to heavy fines.
Of course, having laws on the books is one thing, and enforcing these laws is another matter altogether. The lack of copyright litigation experience on the part of both police and the courts has made copyright law largely toothless. In 1988, the Council of Authors, Producers and Distributors of Audiovisual Programs (whose acronym from the Polish was RAPiD) took matters into their own hands, formed an agency to monitor video shops, outdoor markets, cable and satellite broadcasts, etc., with agents they themselves would train. RAPiD made an estimated 10,000 inspections, and succeeded in netting an estimated 200,000 illegal videotapes. However, the video pirates struck back, detonating grenades in several contributing companies' offices, setting fire to another, and gunning down a rental store-owner. RAPiD's special police were criticized for overstepping their jurisdiction, leading the legislative Sejm (parliament) to make several investigations before finally dissolving it in August 1992. The Warsaw Voice estimates that during the RAPiD period, 20% of video shops were operating illegally, rising to 25% after its dissolution.[33]
With aggressive support from the Polish Ministry of Culture, Poland's film industry has thus far made a moderately successful transition towards a post-Cold War market economy. Government grants for production have decreased, yet production levels have maintained relatively steady. Other funding sources, such as international co-productions and television investment (the latter bolstered by the government's Polish-language programming mandates), have filled in the gaps. A new generation of producers and directors are emerging, and the studios continue their attempts to attract foreign productions. However, while the production sector subsists, exhibitors have suffered. Attendance levels have plummeted, with Hollywood films commanding the vast majority of the country's screens--indeed, the distribution networks which carry Hollywood product have dominated the exhibition sector. Unlike these other cash-poor sectors, the Polish ancillary market has attracted the vast majority of investment dollars. Satellite and cable TV outlets, for instance, have mushroomed. However, because ancillaries possess a large profit potential, a lengthy struggle against the black market has ensued. Illegal television broadcasting practices have been successfully eliminated, but pirated videotapes still claim a substantial portion of the video market.
Thus, while the new video delivery systems work to capitalize on opportunities, the rest of the industry struggles to eke out an existence, hoping to simply survive this transition period intact. The primary concern for the coming years is whether or not the financial opportunities of the ancillary market can continue to counteract the deficiencies in the exhibition sector, thus maintaining steady production levels. If so, the Polish motion picture industry will continue its sufficient transition towards functioning in the global marketplace.