In The Pianist, who directed the 2002 film about Władysław Szpilman?

Roman Polanski directed the 2002 film The Pianist about Władysław Szpilman.

The film adapts Szpilman’s memoir and follows his survival in German-occupied Warsaw during the Second World War. Adrien Brody plays Szpilman, a Polish-Jewish pianist whose life is repeatedly disrupted by persecution, deportation and the destruction of the city.

Polanski’s own childhood experience in occupied Poland informed the film’s perspective, although The Pianist remains an adaptation of Szpilman’s published testimony. Much of the production was filmed in Poland, including locations in Warsaw.

The film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2002. Brody also won the Academy Award for Best Actor, making him the youngest winner in that category at the time. The film is distinct from documentaries and biographical films about other Warsaw survivors.