People
Paweł PAWLIKOWSKI
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Biography
Paweł Pawlikowski was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1957. After studying literature and philosophy at Oxford, he began his career in film as a documentary director at the BBC. His narrative feature debuts, Last Resort (2000) and My Summer of Love (2004), each won a British Academy Award (BAFTA), establishing him as a rising talent in British cinema. Returning to Poland to complete Ida in 2013, he made history as the first Polish director to win the Academy Award for Best International Feature, cementing his name on the world stage. Cold War (2018), inspired by his parents′ love story, won the Best Director prize at Cannes and earned three Oscar nominations. With his latest film, Fatherland, which follows the journey of Thomas Mann and his daughter, he completed a historical trilogy stretching from Ida through Cold War. The film brought him a second Best Director award at Cannes in 2026, breaking his own record. Weaving turbulent history together with personal stories through a restrained style has become his trademark. Having started out as a documentarian, he now stands among the leading auteurs of European cinema.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
