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 on September 15, 1957, is a famous filmmaker from Poland. He first became known for his documentaries in the 1990s. Later, he made popular movies like Last Resort (2000) and My Summer of Love (2004). His films Ida (2013) and Cold War (2018) brought him even more fame. Ida won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. For Cold War, Pawlikowski won the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Early Life and Education

Pawlikowski was born in Warsaw, Poland. His father, Wiktor, was a doctor. His mother, Zula, was a ballet dancer who later became an English literature professor. When he was a teenager, he found out his grandmother was Jewish and had died in Auschwitz.

At 14, he left Poland with his mother. They thought it was a holiday, but they ended up staying in London. A year later, he moved to Germany. Finally, in 1977, he settled in Britain. He studied literature and philosophy at Oxford University.

Filmmaking Career

Pawlikowski is known for his unique style. He often mixes poetry and humor in his films.

Early Documentaries (1980s-1990s)

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Pawlikowski made many documentaries. These films won him awards and fans around the world.

• From Moscow to Pietushki was a film about the Russian writer Venedikt Erofeev. It won an Emmy and other awards.
• Dostoevsky's Travels was a funny and sad road trip movie. It followed a tram driver who was a descendant of Fyodor Dostoevsky. He traveled around Europe to raise money for a car.

One of his most important films was Serbian Epics (1992). He made it during the Bosnian War. This film looked at Serbian poetry and included footage of important figures like Radovan Karadžić. It caused some debate at the time but is now seen as a cult classic.

In 1995, he won the Grierson Award for Tripping with Zhirinovsky. This film was a surreal boat trip with Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Pawlikowski started making fiction films in 1998 with Twockers. This was a short love story set in Yorkshire, which he co-directed.

Feature Films (2000s)

In 2000, Pawlikowski wrote and directed Last Resort. It starred Dina Korzun and Paddy Considine. This film won a BAFTA award and the Michael Powell Award for Best British Film.

In 2004, he wrote and directed My Summer of Love. This movie starred Emily Blunt and Natalie Press. It also won a BAFTA and the Michael Powell Award.

In 2006, he started filming The Restraint of Beasts. However, he had to stop production. His wife became very ill, and he needed to care for her and their children.

Award-Winning Films (2010s)

In 2011, he wrote and directed The Woman in the Fifth. This film was based on a novel and starred Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas.

On October 19, 2013, his film Ida won the Best Film Award at the London Film Festival. Ida went on to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2015. It was the first Polish film to ever win this award.

In 2017, Pawlikowski worked on a screenplay for a film called Limonov. This film was based on the life of Eduard Limonov. However, by 2020, he decided not to direct it.

His most recent film, Cold War, earned him the Best Director Award at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. It also won many awards at the 2018 European Film Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. In 2019, he was a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival.

Recent Projects (2020s)

In October 2022, there were reports about Pawlikowski's next film, called The Island. It was planned to start filming in 2023. The movie was inspired by real events. It was set to star Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara as an American couple who move to a deserted island in the 1930s.

In May 2023, filming for The Island was stopped. This happened just weeks before it was supposed to begin, due to a strike by actors. In December 2023, the cinematographer said the project might not happen. However, in February 2024, Rooney Mara stated that she, Joaquin Phoenix, and Pawlikowski still wanted to make the film. They were just unsure when it could be filmed.

Personal Life

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

He was a Creative Arts Fellow at Oxford Brookes University from 2004 to 2007. He teaches film direction and screenwriting. He teaches at the National Film School in the UK and the Wajda Film School in Warsaw. Besides Polish, he speaks six other languages, including German and Russian.

Pawlikowski's first wife, who was Russian, became very ill 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. Later, he moved back to Warsaw, where he lives near his childhood home. In late 2017, he married Polish model and actress Małgosia Bela.

Filmography

Film

Documentary Works

Television

1987 Stasys Film

Awards and Nominations

Pawlikowski has won many awards for his films. Here are some of the most important ones:

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 made an honorary citizen of Warsaw.

See also

In Spanish: Paweł Pawlikowski para niños

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