She was honoured for her role in Woman on the Roof, a Polish-French-Swedish production directed and written by Poland’s Anna Jadowska.
In Woman on the Roof, inspired by a true story, Pomykała portrays a 60-year-old midwife who does something extremely unexpected, which breaks her family and life apart. One morning she starts her day like any other, wakes up early, puts her family's clothes out to dry, purchases food for her fish and commits a bank robbery.
The festival’s programming director Paul Struthers wrote: “Pomykała gives a tour de force performance as Mira, she is in nearly every scene and authentically lives and breathes this character onscreen and captures this character's inner struggles seamlessly.
"The side characters Mira encounters on her journey of self, are all truly memorable and celebrate the variety of humans on our planet,” Struthers added.
He also said that “director Anna Jadowska has crafted an exquisite film that manages to be equally devastating, personal, hopeful and entertaining and includes several unforgettable dramatic scenes.”
Dorota Pomykała, 66, is a member of the National Stary Theatre company in Kraków, southern Poland. She has a wide range of outstanding roles in the theatre, film and television to her credit.
The Tribeca Film Festival was launched in 2001 on the initiative of Robert de Niro. This year’s 21st edition of the event runs until June 19.
(mk/tf)