Pawel Pawlikowski

His top ten films include (in alphabetical order): Ashes and Diamonds (1958), Loves of a Blonde (1965), Cul-de-sac (1966), Days of Heaven (1978), La Dolce Vita (1960), Sjecas li se, Dolly Bell (1981), The Mirror (1975), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Some Like It Hot (1959), Taxi Driver (1976).

His mother was Catholic and worked as an English teacher at the University of Warsaw. His father worked as a doctor and was a Polish-Jewish atheist and patriot who taught him respect for Polish history. Soon after the parents split up, his father was forced to leave his beloved Poland due to antisemitic cleansing of 1968. At first, he went to Austria, and then moved to Germany where he would later reunite with Pawel's mother. Meanwhile, in 1971 Pawel moved with his mother abroad. He lived briefly in Germany, Italy and France. However, he's spent most of his life (nearly 30 years) in England.

A literature and philosophy graduate, with extensive post-graduate work at Oxford on German literature, Polish-born Pawel Pawlikowski started as a documentary filmmaker in British television. His second feature, Last Resort (2000), earned him international critical acclaim at numerous festivals, including Toronto and Sundance, and won the 2001 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for "Most Promising Newcomer in British Film.

In 2004 became Creative Arts Fellow at Oxford Brookes University, following a major grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Board. Pawlikowski will spend three years at the University, undertaking research into the realist genres of contemporary film-making in Britain, and interacting with staff and students on the University's new degree in Film Studies.

Chairman of the 'Official Competition' jury at the Reykjavik International Film Festival in 2005. The jury chose The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005) as the winner.

His wife was a Russian immigrant pianist who was diagnosed with severe cancer in 2006 while he was busy working on "The Restraint of Beasts". When Pawel learned about his wife's terminal illness, he abandoned the project and stayed with her until she died. He quit directing for 5 years to take care of their children until their graduation.

His Ida (2013) was the first Polish movie to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival in 2015. The jury chose Desde Allá (2015) as the winner of the Golden Lion.

Nominated for a 2019 Academy Award in the Best Director category for his work on Cold War (2018) but lost to Alfonso Cuarón for Roma (2018).