In his presentation, Prof. Wodzynski defines and examines the phenomenon of “PRL Noir”: a series of tele-cinematic returns to Poland’s socialist period (PRL standing for “People’s Republic of Poland”) that channel present-day anxieties over communism’s grim legacy through the highly stylized medium of crime drama. What makes these Polish productions distinct among the current wave of “global noir” films and television series? Can film noir—and crime drama more broadly—serve as a medium for cultural memory? Does “the specter of communism” still haunt East-Central Europe?