During the 98th Academy Awards ceremony, held on March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, one of the statuettes went to Polish-born Maciek Szczerbowski. Together with Chris Lavis, he won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for “The Girl Who Cried Pearls.”

For Polish audiences, this was one of those moments that carry meaning far beyond a simple entry on the winners’ list. Szczerbowski’s Oscar did not go to a major Hollywood blockbuster, but to a short animated film — a more intimate form of cinema, yet one that is often artistically demanding. This meant that the Polish presence at the ceremony was not marginal, but clearly visible among the evening’s official winners.

Was anyone else from Central Europe awarded that night? Yes — another clear Central European success came from Czech producer Alžběta Karásková. She was among the winners in the Best Documentary Feature Film category for “Mr. Nobody Against Putin.” The film was a Czech-Danish co-production, making it another notable achievement for the region.

In practice, this means that this year’s Academy Awards featured at least two distinct Central European accents: a Polish one through Maciek Szczerbowski, and a Czech one through the success of Mr. Nobody Against Putin. At the same time, the official winners’ list suggests that these were exceptions rather than part of a broader regional trend. The ceremony was largely dominated by American productions, especially “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners,” which collected many of the top awards.

At this point, no other equally clear winners from Central Europe stand out on the official list of Oscar recipients. The safest conclusion, then, is that although Hollywood mainly rewarded American cinema that night, Poland and the Czech Republic also made their mark in a very visible way — not merely among the nominees, but among the Oscar winners themselves.