[3] It was selected as the Polish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.

[7][8][9] The start of the film begins in 1948 with Strzemiński as an influential lecturer at the School of Visual Arts, Łódź.

This results in him being stripped of his position at the school, and his works (including his famous "Neo-Plastic Room" at the Museum of Art, Łódź) were either withdrawn from public view or simply destroyed.

Then the bureaucracy denied him his ability to make a living as a sign-painter, prevented him buying art supplies, and collecting food stamps.

The website's critical consensus states,"Afterimage's punishing narrative pays dividends through Andrzej Wajda's still-formidable control and a message that, while certainly grim, is undeniably worthy".