The accolade will be presented to Holland during a ceremony at the historic Polski Theater in Warsaw on March 4.
Dariusz Jabłoński, the head of the Polish Film Academy, praised Holland as a tireless director whose films have made significant contributions to cinema, well deserving of the recognition which showcases Holland's commitment to addressing major issues through her art.
Holland has had a distinguished career, beginning with assisting notable directors Krzysztof Zanussi and Andrzej Wajda, and going on to receive international acclaim with award-winning films such as Provincial Actors, Fever, and Europa Europa.
Her work spans multiple genres, subjects and historical periods. Her credits as a filmmaker include Copying Beethoven, about the life of Ludwig van Beethoven; Mr. Jones, set during the great famine orchestrated by Russian authorities in Ukraine in the 1930s; the costume drama Washington Square; and the HBO mini-series Burning Bush, about Jan Palach, who self-immolated in January 1969 to protest the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Holland has also directed many television productions, including multiple episodes of The Wire, The Killing and House of Cards.
She is currently working on a biographical picture of Franz Kafka.
In 2020, Holland was elected president of the European Film Academy and in 2023 received an honorary doctorate from the National Film School in Łódź, central Poland.
Her recent film Green Border shed light on the ongoing migrant crisis at the EU-Belarusian border, intertwining the perspectives of refugees, Polish activists and border guards.
It premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival where it was awarded the Special Jury Prize.
To highlight the ongoing human drama and the need for compassion and action, Holland dedicated that award to activists and community members who assisted refugees.
The Polish Film Awards, established in 1999, honor the achievements of filmmakers in multiple categories.
Holland joins a distinguished list of previous lifetime achievement award recipients, including director Roman Polanski and actor Janusz Gajos.
This year's gala, which marks the 26th edition of the awards, will see Scarborn leading the nominations, with Holland's Green Border also in contention for six awards in key categories.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP