Polish Director Agnieszka Holland Honoured in Prague with the Charles IV Award

Polish director Agnieszka Holland has been awarded the Charles IV Prize. The accolade recognises her cinematic work, which sensitively explores totalitarian regimes and individual responsibility.

In the Brožík Hall (Brožíkův sál) of Prague’s Old Town Hall on Thursday, the Polish film director and screenwriter Agnieszka Holland received the Charles IV Prize. Holland is a graduate of Prague’s FAMU and is one of the most significant European filmmakers of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Holland is the eighth recipient of the Charles IV Prize and joins an illustrious line of laureates, including philosophers, physicists and personalities such as former German President Joachim Gauck. The award ceremony was presented by Prague’s Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda and the Rector of Charles University, Milena Králíčková.

Foto: Bohuslav Svoboda, primátor hl. m. Prahy | Facebook

“The Charles IV Prize honours individuals whose work transcends the boundaries of disciplines and states, contributing in the long term to the defence of human dignity, freedom and collective memory,” said Mayor Svoboda. “Agnieszka Holland is one of the artists who has understood how to sensitively yet uncompromisingly illuminate, through film, the themes of totalitarian regimes, individual responsibility and civic courage. Her connection to Prague and the Czech environment gives this award a special dimension.”

Rector Králíčková also emphasised Holland’s humanistic approach: “Her work teaches us to view history and the present with empathy and humanity, while also recognising the courage of the individual to stand against injustice. The Charles IV Prize honours her tireless commitment to freedom, democracy and human dignity.”

Video: FRANZ | Official US Trailer

The prize not only acknowledges Holland’s extensive cinematic work, which often addresses still-relevant questions regarding Nazi and Communist crimes, but also her close connection to Prague and the Czech Republic. The director has been nominated for an Oscar several times. In her most recent film, Franz (2025), which explores the life of Franz Kafka, Prague plays a central role in the backdrop of this brilliant writer’s work.

Foto: Bohuslav Svoboda, primátor hl. m. Prahy | Facebook

The International Charles IV Prize was established in 1993 by the City of Prague and Charles University to recognise outstanding figures in science, culture and society. Previous recipients include French philosopher Paul Ricoeur (1993), German physicist Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker (1995), Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich (1998), Czech pianist Ivan Moravec (2000), Australian physician John Kerr (2002), Luxembourgish Grand Duke Henri de Luxembourg (2018), and former German President Joachim Gauck (2019).