Watch: Haunting, Meditative Trailer for Pawel Pawlikowski’s Award-Winner ‘Ida’

Music Box Films has released a trailer for Pawel Palikowski’s “Ida,” which made its rounds on the festival circuit last year.

Shot entirely in black and white, the film tells the story of a young woman named Anna. Orphaned as a child, Anna grew up in a convent and is preparing to become a nun. Before she can take her vows, however, she is told that she must pay a visit to her only living relative, who turns out to be her mother’s sister, Wanda. Upon meeting Wanda, Anna makes a shocking discovery — that she is, in fact, of Jewish background and her birth name is Ida. Together, Anna/Ida and Wanda must come to terms with their family’s painful past and their own uncertain future.

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Although the black and white footage appears bleak and oppressive, the soundtrack in the trailer suggests a hopeful, liberating quality about the film.

“Ida” won the FIPRESCI Special Presentation Award at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. The film is slated to release on May 2.