A film by Jerzy Skolimowski (Moonlighting, The Shout, Deep End)
Written & Produced by Jerzy Skolimowski & Ewa Piaskowska
Executive Producer Jeremy Thomas
Starring Sandra Drzymalska, Lorzeno Zurzolo, Mateusz Kosciukiewicz& Isabelle Huppert
Poland has announced its official submission to the race for the 2023 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, selecting Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO.
The movie had its premiere in Competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and the Soundtrack Award and received rave reviews.
It will also be screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the main slate of the New York Film Festival.
With his first film in seven years, legendary director Jerzy Skolimowski (Deep End, Moonlighting) directs one of his most free and visually inventive films yet, following the travels of a nomadic gray donkey named EO. After being removed from the travelling circus, which is the only life he’s ever known, EO begins a trek across the Polish and Italian countryside, experiencing cruelty and kindness in equal measure, all the while observing the follies and triumphs of humankind. During his travels, EO is both helped and hindered by a cast of characters that includes a young Italian priest (Lorenzo Zurzolo), a Countess (Isabelle Huppert), and a rowdy Polish soccer team. Loosely inspired by Robert Bresson’s Au hasard Balthazar, and featuring immersive, stunning cinematography by Michal Dymek, coupled with Pawel Mykietyn resonant score, Skolimowski’s film puts the viewer in the perspective of its four-legged protagonist. EO’s journey speaks to the world around us, an equine hero boldly pointing out societal ills, and serving as a warning to the dangers of neglect and inaction, all while on a quest for freedom.
Ewa Piaskowska and Jerzy Skolimowski wrote and produced the pic. Hanway Films is handling world sales. Jeremy Thomas is the executive producer. Ewa Puszczyńska, chairman of the Polish Oscars Commission, explained: “(‘EO’) is emotional, great cinema, it moves and makes you reflect deeply on the condition of the modern world.”
