The director who took home an Oscar for best animated short Sunday spent his teen years in London.
Maciek Szczerbowski, director of “The Girl Who Cried Pearls,” was 12 when he and his family moved to London from Poland. He attended John Paul II high school before moving to Montreal and on to post-secondary at Concordia University in 1990, then McGill University in 1992.
Szczerbowski co-directed the film with Montreal filmmaker Chris Lavis.
Although he didn’t give a special shoutout to London, he did one for Canada.
“We just really want to thank our amazing neighbourhood and the amazingly talented community of artists that we’ve had the superb luck to work with, thank you to the fantastic city of Montreal,” Szczerbowski said in his Oscar speech. “Thank you, Canada.”
They weren’t the only Canadians to win. Toronto’s Maggie Kang won the Oscar for best animated feature with “KPop Demon Hunters.”
“The Girl Who Cried Pearls” is a stop-motion animated short film produced by the National Film Board. It’s been screened at more than 40 festivals and has received multiple awards with this Oscar being the biggest.
Paul Thomas Anderson receiving his Oscar (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
“KPop Demon Hunters” was released during the summer of 2025 and has since received a Golden Globe for the best animated feature along with best original song, it became the first ever KPop song to win a Grammy.
“One Battle After Another,” led the night with six total wins which included Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson, while “Sinners” won Best Actor with Michael B. Jordan and Best Original Screenplay for Ryan Coogler.
Anderson has previously been nominated 14 times previously which included five times for screenplays and three times for best director. Actor Sean Penn won best supporting actor for his role in “One Battle After Another” but skipped the ceremony to go to Ukraine to show support to the war-torn country.
Some other big names were Jessie Buckley for Best Actress for her part in “Hammet,” and Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Weapons.”
