Ida

Having grown up in a convent as an orphan since World War II, a young woman ventures out into 1960s Poland for the first time before taking her vows.

In 1962, Anna, an orphan who has lived in a convent her whole life is preparing to become a nun. Before she takes her vows, she discovers that she has an Aunt – perhaps her last living relative – who she feels obliged to visit.

Shot in a boxy Academy ratio frame in luminous black and white with an almost completely static camera, the experience of watching Ida is like carefully sifting through a box of old, heart-breaking photographs. For the viewer, we’re transported to 1960s Poland, but for Anna, who discovers her real name is Ida, she is placed on a journey of self-discovery, pursued by the dark shadow cast over her birth family by the 2nd World War.

For director Paweł Pawlikowski, Ida reflects his own return to the past. As a teenager he emigrated from Poland to the UK and Ida – his first film set in Poland – is his own return to his roots.

Ida was Poland’s official entry into the 87th Academy Awards where it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year.