American Television CBS aired a TV drama portraying the life of the late Irena Sendler. Called "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler" it tells a story of a Polish catholic social worker who saved 2500 Jewish children during the Holocaust. It was directed by John Kent Harrison and the main character is played by Anna Paquin - a New Zealand actress and the winner of an Academy Award for the Best Supporting Actress in the film “The Piano”.

The movie received lukewarm responses from the American critics. According to Gina Bellafante who reviewed it for The New York Times Review, the movie does successfully tell the story of Sendler, for those who are interested from a historical perspective, but as a film it is "weak.".

"The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler" is based on Anna Mieszkowska's 2005 biography, "Mother of the Children of the Holocaust: The Irena Sendler Story." 

Irena Sendler died on May 12, 2008, at the age of 98. (di)