# Jerzy Skolimowski

Jerzy Skolimowski (Polish:; born 5 May 1938) is a Polish film director, screenwriter, dramatist, actor and painter. Beginning as a screenwriter for Andrzej Wajda's Innocent Sorcerers (1960), Skolimowski has made more than twenty films since his directorial debut The Menacing Eye (1960). In 1967 he was awarded the Golden Bear prize for his Belgian film The Departure (1967). Among his other notable films is Deep End (1970), starring Jane Asher and John Moulder Brown.
He lived in Los Angeles for over 20 years where he painted in a figurative, expressionist mode and occasionally acted in films. He returned to Poland, and to filmmaking as a writer and director, after a 17-year hiatus with Four Nights with Anna (2008).
He received the Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2016 Venice Film Festival. His film EO (2022) was awarded the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.

## Early life

Skolimowski was born in Łódź, Poland, the son of Maria (née Postnikoff) and Stanisław Skolimowski, an architect. He often recognized indications in his work to a childhood ineradicably scarred by the war. As a small child he witnessed the brutalities of war, even having been rescued from the rubble of a bombed-out house in Warsaw. His father, a member of the Polish Resistance, was executed by the German occupiers Nazis. His mother hid a Polish Jewish family in the house and Skolimowski recalls being required to take candy from German soldiers to maintain appearances.
After the war, his mother became the cultural attaché of the Polish embassy in Prague. His fellow pupils at school in Poděbrady, a spa town near Prague, included future film-makers Miloš Forman and Ivan Passer, as well as Václav Havel.
Skolimowski was considered as a trouble maker at school as he was the origin of many pranks which angered the authorities. At college he studied ethnography, history and literature and took up boxing, which was also the subject of a feature-length documentary, his first significant film. Skolimowski's interest in jazz and association with composer Krzysztof Komeda brought him into contact with actor Zbigniew Cybulski and directors Andrzej Munk and Roman Polanski.

## Writer and actor

In his early twenties Skolimowski was already a writer, having published several books of poems, short stories and a play. Soon Skolimowski met Andrzej Wajda, the leading director of the then dominant 'Polish school' and twelve years his senior, who showed him a script for a film about youth written by Jerzy Andrzejewski, the author of the novel Ashes and Diamonds. Skolimowski was not impressed and dismissed the script. However, in response to a challenge by Wajda, he produced his own version which became a basis for the finished film, Innocent Sorcerers (1960), directed by Wajda with Skolimowski playing a boxer.
Skolimowski enrolled in the Łódź Film School with the intention of avoiding the long apprenticeship required before graduating to feature film direction. He used the film stock available to him for student exercises, and with initial advice from Andrzej Munk, he filmed over several years in such a way that the sequences were later clipped off and joined together into one piece of work. While scoring poorly in course work Skolimowski had a finished feature film by the end of the course.

## Into the movie arena

Skolimowski then collaborated with Polański, writing the dialogue for the script of Knife in the Water (1962).
Between 1964 and 1984 he completed six semi-autobiographical feature films: Rysopis, Walkover, Barrier (1966), Hands Up! (completed 1967, released 1981), Moonlighting (GB 1982) and Success Is the Best Revenge, a segment in Dialóg and two other features Le Départ (1967) and Deep End based on his original screenplays. Barrier won Grand Prix at Bergamo International Film Festival. Le Départ won the Golden Bear at the 17th Berlin International Film Festival.
While living and working in many countries, he also completed another six relatively big budget productions, including four international co-productions, between 1970 and 1992 (The Adventures of Gerard, King, Queen, Knave, The Shout, The Lightship, Torrents of Spring and Ferdydurke), all distinctly bearing Skolimowski’s signature.

## Film as life

After Barrier he left Poland to make Le Départ in Belgium in French. According to him Le Départ was a light film rather than a comedy, stating that it "does not have the serious layers that I like in my work." Skolimowski returned to Poland to make Ręce do góry (Hands Up!), the third film of the Andrzej trilogy and the fourth of his Polish sextet. The anti-Stalinist themes of Hands Up! resulted in that film being banned and him being effectively expelled from then communist Poland. He then resettled in London, notably having Jimi Hendrix as a neighbor in the same building.
Between Hands Up! and his next feature, Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Gerard (1970), Skolimowski contributed a story to a Czech-produced portmanteau film, Dialóg 20-40-60 (1968), in which three different directors (with Zbyněk Brynych and Peter Solan) each devised their own story using identical dialogue even though the central characters in each section are separated in age by twenty years. Skolimowski's segment, "The Twenty Year Olds", would seem to be an extension of Le Départ with Jean-Pierre Léaud playing opposite Skolimowski's wife Joanna Szczerbic.
Deep End (1970) was Skolimowski's second non-Polish feature to be based on his own original screenplay. The movie with a coming of age storyline bears distinctive thematic similarities to Le Départ. His films The Shout (1978) and Moonlighting (1982) became critical successes, with Moonlighting, made in the UK and starring Jeremy Irons, the fifth of his Polish sextet, being critically and commercially his most successful film.

## In the United States

The Lightship, Skolimowski’s first US production, was adapted from a novella by the German writer Siegfried Lenz and starring Robert Duvall and Klaus Maria Brandauer. Set on a US Coast Guard ship it was filmed in the North Sea. It is suspended between psychological duel with a doppelgänger theme and a pure performance piece within the stage-like confines of the lightship. However, even though receiving the best film award at the Venice Film Festival, The Lightship had only a very limited release.
Torrents of Spring (1989), adapted from a semi-autobiographical novella by Russian author Ivan Turgenev, was a big budget European co-production starring Timothy Hutton, Nastassja Kinski and Valeria Golino. It could be considered as Skolimowski's most impersonal 'generic' film, the only real departure from his expressed interest in making films only to please himself.
Skolimowski is also an actor, having appearances as Colonel Chaikov, a ruthless yet composed KGB colonel, in White Nights (1985) and Uncle Stepan, a Russian expatriate in Eastern Promises (2007), among other roles. In 2012, he appeared in The Avengers, as a villain interrogating Black Widow.

## Later career

In 2008, he directed his first film after his return from the US Cztery noce z Anną (Four Nights with Anna).
In 2010, he directed Essential Killing starring Vincent Gallo and Emmanuelle Seigner. The film won multiple awards including Special Jury Prize at the 67th Venice International Film Festival, Golden Ástor Award at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival and the Golden Lions Award for Best Film at the Gdynia Film Festival. In 2011, he became the recipient of the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
In 2015, he directed thriller film 11 Minutes starring Richard Dormer and Andrzej Chyra. It was selected as the Polish entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 88th Academy Awards.
In July 2016, at the Venice International Film Festival, Skolimowski was honoured with the Golden Lion for "lifetime achievement".
His film EO premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize. The Polish-Italian co-production is a contemporary interpretation of the 1966 drama film Au hasard Balthazar directed by Robert Bresson. Submitted by Poland, EO was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. In 2022, he co-wrote Roman Polański's drama film The Palace.

## Filmography

| Year | Original Title | English Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Actor | Notes |
| 1960 | Hamles | Little Hamlet | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1960 | Oko wykol | The Menacing Eye | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1960 | Erotyk | Erotique | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1960 | Niewinni czarodzieje | Innocent Sorcerers | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 1961 | Boks | Boxing | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1961 | Pieniądze albo życie | Your Money or Your Life | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1961 | Rzeźba | Rzeźba | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1962 | Nóż w wodzie | Knife in the Water | No | Yes | No | No | |
| 1962 | Druga taryfa | Druga taryfa | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1962 | Akt | The Nude | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1965 | Rysopis | Identification Marks: None | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Also editor and art director |
| 1965 | Walkower | Walkover | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Also editor |
| 1966 | Sposób bycia | Sposób bycia | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 1966 | Bariera | Barrier | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1967 | Le départ | The Departure | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1968 | Dialóg 20-40-60 | Dialóg 20-40-60 | Yes | Yes | No | No | Anthology film; segment: "The Twenty-Year-Olds" |
| 1970 | The Adventures of Gerard | The Adventures of Gerard | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1970 | Deep End | Deep End | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 1972 | King, Queen, Knave | King, Queen, Knave | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 1972 | Poślizg | Poślizg | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 1978 | The Shout | The Shout | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1981 | Ręce do góry | Hands Up! | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Filmed in 1967; also art director |
| 1981 | Die Fälschung | Circle of Deceit | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 1982 | Moonlighting | Moonlighting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1984 | Success Is the Best Revenge | Success Is the Best Revenge | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1985 | The Lightship | The Lightship | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 1985 | White Nights | White Nights | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 1987 | Big Shots | Big Shots | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 1989 | Torrents of Spring | Torrents of Spring | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 1991 | Ferdydurke | 30 Door Key | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1993 | Motyw cienia | The Hollow Men | No | No | Yes | No | |
| 1996 | Mars Attacks! | Mars Attacks! | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 1998 | L.A. Without a Map | L.A. Without a Map | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 2000 | Before Night Falls | Before Night Falls | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 2007 | Eastern Promises | Eastern Promises | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 2008 | Cztery noce z Anna | Four Nights with Anna | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2010 | Essential Killing | Essential Killing | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2012 | The Avengers | The Avengers | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 2012 | Bitwa pod Wiedniem | The Day of the Siege: September Eleven 1683 | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 2015 | 11 Minut | 11 Minutes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2018 | Una storia senza nome | The Stolen Caravaggio | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 2018 | Juliusz | Juliusz | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 2022 | IO | EO | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2023 | The Palace | The Palace | No | Yes | No | No | |
| 2023 | Warszawianka | Warszawianka | No | No | No | Yes | 7 episodes |

## Awards

| Year | Award | Category |
| 1964 | PWSFTviT | Best Director (Identification Marks: None) |
| 1965 | Arnhem Film Festival | Grand Prix: Best Director (Identification Marks: None and Walkover) |
| 1965 | PWSFTviT | Andrzej Munk Award (Walkover) |
| 1965 | Bergamo Film Festival | Grand Prix (Barrier) |
| 1967 | Berlin Film Festival | Golden Bear (Le départ) |
| 1967 | Berlin Film Festival | Critics' Prize (UNICRIT Award) (Le départ) |
| 1968 | Valladolid International Film Festival | Special Jury Prize (Barrier) |
| 1978 | Cannes Film Festival | Special Jury Prize (The Shout) |
| 1981 | Polish Film Festival | Journalists Award (Hands Up!) |
| 1982 | Deutscher Filmpreis | Best Supporting Actor (Circle of Deceit) |
| 1982 | Cannes Film Festival | Best Screenplay (Moonlighting) |
| 1985 | Venice Film Festival | Special Jury Prize (The Lightship) |
| 2008 | Tokyo Film Festival | Special Jury Prize (Four Nights with Anna) |
| 2009 | International Istanbul Film Festival | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 2009 | Lato Filmów: Warsaw Film and Art Festival | Best screenplay in the history of Polish cinema (Knife in the Water) |
| 2009 | Polish Film Awards | Eagle: Best Director (Four Nights with Anna) |
| 2010 | Venice Film Festival | Special Jury Prize (Essential Killing) |
| 2010 | Venice Film Festival | CinemAvvenire Award: Best Film In Competition (Essential Killing) |
| 2010 | Mar del Plata Film Festival | Golden Astor: Best Film (Essential Killing) |
| 2010 | Mar del Plata Film Festival | ACCA Award: Best Film in the International Competition (Essential Killing) |
| 2010 | Camerimage | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 2010 | Polish Film Awards | Eagle: Best Director (Essential Killing) |
| 2010 | Polish Film Awards | Eagle: Best Film (Essential Killing) |
| 2011 | Polish Film Festival | Best Director (Essential Killing) |
| 2011 | Polish Film Festival | Golden Lions: Best Film (Essential Killing) |
| 2011 | Sopot Film Festival | Grand Prix (Essential Killing) |
| 2012 | Belgian Film Critics Association | Grand Prix (Essential Killing) |
| 2015 | Motovun Film Festival | Maverick Award for Lifetime Achievement |
| 2016 | Venice Film Festival | Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement |
| 2022 | Cannes Film Festival | Jury Prize (EO) |
| 2022 | Valladolid International Film Festival | Best Director (EO) |
| 2022 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film (EO) |
| 2022 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Foreign Language Film (EO) |
| 2022 | Polish Film Awards | Eagle: Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 2023 | Polish Film Awards | Eagle: Best Film (EO) |
| 2023 | Polish Film Awards | Eagle: Best Director (EO) |
| 2023 | National Society of Film Critics | Best Foreign Language Film (EO) |