Aldo Vergano, Umberto Barbaro and Devil's Ravine : Italian filmmakers in early People's Poland: 1948–56.

This article examines the activities of Italian filmmakers Umberto Barbaro and Aldo Vergano in the People's Republic of Poland during the late 1940s, focusing on the production and reception of the film *Czarci żleb* (Devil's Ravine) (Kański and Vergano 1949). It analyzes how the Polish communist authorities utilized these Italian artists and their work for political propaganda, emphasizing the ideological alignment between Italian neorealism and socialist realism under Stalinism. Barbaro and Vergano, both associated with the Italian Communist Party and marginalized in Italy for political reasons, contributed to Polish film culture through teaching at the Lodz Film School and producing *Devil's Ravine*, which was widely promoted and received as a model of socialist realist cinema. The article also highlights the broader context of Polish-Italian cultural exchanges during this period, noting that while the filmmakers' involvement served communist propaganda aims, their work left a lasting impact on Polish cinema.