Last year in honor of Polish-American Heritage Month, we celebrated Polish filmmakers. This year, we are highlighting specific films worth watching. Read on to learn about them, and check out our blog to find more information on Polish-American Heritage Month.

In 2022, donkeys had bit parts in two Best Picture nominees ("The Banshees of Inisherin" and "Triangle of Sadness"), but only one Oscar-nominated film starred a donkey (six actually, all playing the same part). The Polish-Italian film "EO," about a donkey who works in a Polish circus, was nominated for Best International Feature Film. While it did not win the Oscar, it did earn Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski the Jury Prize at Cannes, among other major industry awards.

Paweł Pawlikowski is one of the most successful Polish filmmakers in the industry today. He began his career as a documentarian before writing and directing feature films. His 2013 film "Ida" earned him his first Academy Award nomination and win for Best Foreign Language Film (now called Best International Feature Film). This marks the only win ever for Poland out of 13 nominations. The drama tells the story of a young woman about to take her vows as a Catholic nun when she finds out from a relative that her parents were Jewish and died in the German occupation of Poland during World War II.

Pawlikowski had another hit with 2018's "Cold War." The film covers several decades of the relationship between a musical director and a young singer who he discovered. He won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director. The film earned Poland a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and Polish cinematographer Łukasz Żal earned a nomination for Best Cinematography.

The most renowned Polish filmmaker of all time is Andrzej Wajda, who received an Honorary Oscar at the 72nd ceremony held in 2000, among other major recognitions. In the 1950s, he directed three films that became known as his war trilogy: "A Generation" (1955), "Kanał" (1957), and "Ashes and Diamonds" (1958). He later directed four films nominated for Best International Feature: "The Promised Land" (1975), "The Maids of Wilko" (1979), "Man of Iron" (1981), and "Katyń" (2007).

Be sure to check out these films as you celebrate Polish-American Heritage Month.