"IDA is a testament to how much more less can be, and to the power of impassioned performances. Stripped of superfluous technique, this exquisite feature explores national as well as personal identity, and the need for belief in a bewildering world." Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal

”It haunted me as much as anything I saw in the past 12 months, and I can’t wait to see it again.” – A.O. Scott, New York Times

ABOUT THE FILM

Anna, an orphan raised in a convent, is preparing to take her vows when she’s sent to visit Wanda, her aunt and only living relative. A cynical, hard-drinking Communist Party judge, Wanda reveals that Anna’s real name is Ida and that her parents were Jews murdered during the Nazi occupation. So the two embark on an unusual journey through the wintry countryside to unearth their family’s dark history.

An astonishing work, both graceful and haunting, the film’s beautiful black-and-white imagery is so artfully composed that every frame belongs in an exhibition. The setting—a somber, 1960s Poland—suggests an austere combination of Catholicism, Communism, and the Holocaust, but IDA is vibrant and intimate, a subtle portrait of two fascinating, contrasting women: the sheltered Ida, who is exploring her faith, and Wanda, who—having seen the worst of humanity—has no faith left. (Polish with English subtitles, 2013, 80 minutes, b/w, Poland, Spotlight)

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Award-winning filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski was born in Warsaw and settled in the United Kingdom in 1977.  He has directed several acclaimed documentaries for the BBC, including DOSTOEVSKY’S TRAVELS (1992) and TRIPPING WITH ZHIRINOVSKY (1995). His full-length features LAST RESORT (2000) and MY SUMMER OF LOVE (2004) have won BAFTAs and numerous festival accolades. IDA is the first film he’s made in his native Poland.