Paweł Pawlikowski facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Paweł Pawlikowski
Pawlikowski in 2015
Born	Paweł Aleksander Pawlikowski (1957-09-15) 15 September 1957 (age 67) Warsaw, Poland
Alma mater	Oxford University
Occupation	Filmmaker
Spouse(s)	Irina Pawlikowska ​ (died 2006)​ Małgosia Bela ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	2

Paweł Aleksander Pawlikowski (born 15 September 1957) is a famous filmmaker from Poland. He is known for making both documentaries and feature films. He first became well-known in the 1990s for his documentaries. Later, his movies like Last Resort (2000) and My Summer of Love (2004) won many awards.

In the 2010s, his film Ida (2013) won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. This is one of the highest honors in movies! He also directed Cold War (2018), which earned him the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival. He was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for this film.

Early Life and Education

Paweł Pawlikowski was born in Warsaw, Poland. His father, Wiktor, was a doctor, and his mother, Zula, was a ballet dancer who later became an English literature professor. When he was a teenager, Pawlikowski found out that his grandmother was Jewish and had been killed in Auschwitz during World War II.

At age 14, he moved from Poland to London with his mother. What he thought was a vacation turned into a permanent move. A year later, he lived in Germany before finally settling in Britain in 1977. He went on to study literature and philosophy at Oxford University.

Filmmaking Career

Pawlikowski's career started with making documentaries. These films were known for being both artistic and a bit funny. They won him many fans and awards around the world.

Documentaries in the 1990s

One of his early documentaries was From Moscow to Pietushki. This film explored the world of a Russian writer named Venedikt Erofeev. It won several awards, including an Emmy. Another film, Dostoevsky's Travels, was a funny and sad road trip movie. It followed a tram driver from St. Petersburg who was a descendant of the famous writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. The driver traveled around Europe trying to raise money to buy a car.

Pawlikowski's film Serbian Epics (1992) was made during the Bosnian War. It looked at Serbian poetry and included footage of important figures like Radovan Karadžić and General Ratko Mladić. This film caused a lot of discussion at the time. His movie Tripping with Zhirinovsky was a strange boat trip down the Volga River with a Russian politician. This film won the Grierson Award for Best British Documentary in 1995.

In 1998, Pawlikowski started making fiction films. He co-wrote and co-directed a short film called Twockers. It was a love story set in Yorkshire, England.

Feature Films in the 2000s

In 2000, he wrote and directed Last Resort. This movie won a BAFTA award and the Michael Powell Award for Best British Film. In 2004, he wrote and directed My Summer of Love, starring Emily Blunt. This film also won a BAFTA and the Michael Powell Award.

In 2006, Pawlikowski had to stop filming his movie The Restraint of Beasts. His wife became very ill, and he needed to take care of her and their children.

Movies in the 2010s

In 2011, he directed a film called The Woman in the Fifth, starring Ethan Hawke.

His film Ida (2013) won the Best Film Award at the London Film Festival. On February 23, 2015, Ida made history by winning the Academy Award for Foreign Language Film. It was the first Polish film to ever win this award!

Pawlikowski's most recent film, Cold War, earned him the Best Director Award at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. It also won Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress at the 2018 European Film Awards. In 2019, he was a judge at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.

Recent Projects in the 2020s

In 2022, there were plans for Pawlikowski's next film, called The Island. It was inspired by a true story about an American couple who move to a deserted island in the 1930s. Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara were set to star in it.

However, in May 2023, filming for The Island was stopped because of a big strike by actors in Hollywood. It's not clear when, or if, the film will be made.

Personal Life

Pawlikowski grew up Catholic and still considers himself Catholic today. He finds it easier to practice his faith in Great Britain than in Poland.

He has taught film direction and screenwriting at the National Film School in the UK and the Wajda Film School in Warsaw. Besides Polish, he can speak six other languages, including German and Russian.

Pawlikowski's first wife, who was Russian, became very sick in 2006 and passed away a few months later. They had a son and a daughter together. After his children went to university, Pawlikowski moved to Paris, and then back to Warsaw, near where he grew up. In 2017, he married Polish model and actress Małgosia Bela.

Filmography

Feature Films

Documentary Works

Television

1987 Stasys Film

Awards and Recognitions

Paweł Pawlikowski has won many important awards for his films. Here are some of them:

Academy Awards

British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs)

Golden Globe Awards

European Film Awards

Polish Film Awards

British Independent Film Awards

Film Festivals and Other Awards

Critics' Circle Awards

Other Honors

Pawlikowski is an Honorary Associate of the London Film School. In 2019, he was given the title of an honorary citizen of Warsaw, his hometown.

See also

In Spanish: Paweł Pawlikowski para niños

• Cinema of Poland
• List of Poles
• List of Polish Academy Award winners and nominees