British insularity with respect to cultures originating on the European mainland scarcely needs comment. It is very rare for foreign-language films to receive coverage in even the most ambitious television arts programs or in the pages of weekly political reviews such as the New Statesman. In 2008, according to a UK Film Council report, foreign films represented less than 4 percent of the total UK market. Of this, 2.3 percent of the market was devoted to European films, which was apparently three times the 2002 figure and the highest yet recorded. To be more specific, 527 films were released overall, of which 188 were foreign language. Without including every country listed, there were 51 Hindi films, 32 French, 10 Japanese, 9 German, 4 Russian, 2 Romanian, 2 Polish, 1 Czech, and 1 Hungarian. If we review the history of the reception of foreign films in the United Kingdom, it is clear that we are looking at an elite market or—if we exclude Hindi films—a linked collection of niche markets.

In examining the ways in which Polish films have been received in the United Kingdom, I am drawing principally on personal experience, which includes working with film societies, regional film theaters, and film festivals, as well as working in film education and, of course, watching television. If we look at the concept of reception, it should also be recognized that this is not a unified phenomenon. Reception can be considered under a number of headings. These include commercial reception (where there has not been a significant market share); reception by film societies, film theaters, and regional arts cinemas (which have expressed a good deal of interest); and television reception. There are also two further categories—reception by film critics and journalists and reception within the field of film studies and film education.