The End of the World in Polish. Review of Polish post-apocalyptic cinema | Horror Day 2026

The lecture will be an overview of Polish post-apocalyptic cinema, from films from the period of the Polish People's Republic to contemporary productions dealing with the theme of catastrophe, survival and the disintegration of civilization. The starting point will be the question of why the Polish postapo rarely resembles the spectacular cinema of the desert and the struggle, and more often takes the form of a story about shelter, system, propaganda, scarcity and false hope. The whole will be an attempt to answer the question of what ideas about the apocalypse say about Polish history, culture and collective fears.

The event is part of Horror Day 2026 — 12th Lower Silesian Horror Festival. The theme of this year's festival is POSTAPOCALYPSE. The full program of the event is available here HORROR DAY PROGRAM 2026.

⚠️ Information about sensitive content (trigger warning)

Horror Day 2026 will feature content of a drastic, disturbing and dark nature, including references to: violence, death, destruction and the disintegration of civilizations, zombies and other monsters, blood, wounds, cruelty, disasters, epidemics, and the themes of loss and suffering. Some events may contain drastic or disturbing images, descriptions, and audiovisual material.

The organizers recommend caution to people who are sensitive to this type of content.