Today, the premiere of ‘IO’ in Cannes

Jerzy Skolimowski’s latest film this year was among the 21 films that will compete for the Palme d’Or. The title refers to the sound of the donkey, because the donkey is the protagonist in this film. The image is a reworking of road cinema. It refers to the classics of cinema, to the film “For luck, Balthasar!” Robert Bryson from 1966. The story of a donkey named Balthazar begins in a Polish circus and ends in an Italian slaughterhouse. The main roles in the new film were played by Skolimowski, among others, Isabelle Huppert, Sandra Drzemalska, Mateusz Kosiewicz and Thomas Organek. Jerzy Skolimowski directed the film and is also a screenwriter with Ewa Piaskowski. The author of the images for “IO” is Michał Dymek.

Jerzy Skolimowski has shown his films in Cannes several times. In 1971, “Król, Dama i Walet” was nominated for the Palme d’Or. The film was a co-production of Germany and the USA, and the cast included, among others with Gina Lollobrigida and David Niven. Skolimovsky’s 1978 film The Scream won the Cannes Special Jury Prize. It is a dark story written in Great Britain about an inmate in a mental institution with extraordinary abilities. Another film by Jerzy Skolimowski shown at Cannes called “Fucha”. The movie was shot in 1982 in Great Britain. The actor was Jeremy Irons, and the picture tells the story of Polish workers working in London, at a time when martial law was implemented in Poland. Skolimowski made this film based on his own script, which was awarded the Palme d’Or in Cannes. Two years later, his film “The Best Revenge Is Success” was nominated for the Palme d’Or. In 1989, “Spring Waters” starring Timothy Hutton and Nastasya Kinski was shown at the Cannes main competition. Jerzy Skolimowski not only showed his films in Cannes, but was also a member of the festival’s jury in 1987.

The maker of the films “Cztery noce z Anna”, “11 minutes” or “Essential Killing” is also an actor. He played in the 1972 film “Slip” by Jan Omnicki, for which he wrote the script. We also saw her on screen in Volker Schlöndorff’s 1981 film The Forgeries and, interestingly, in Martians Attack! Tim Burton from 1996. In the comedy “Juliusz” he played a cruel art dealer.

Jerzy Skolimowski is also a talented illustrator. He held his first solo exhibition of painting in Turin in 1996. He has shown his artworks all over the world. From Los Angeles, Miami and Toronto via Paris, Oslo and Berlin to Bucharest and Belgrade. And of course in Poland. Recently, his paintings can be seen in the new gallery in Krakow. In 2001, Jerzy Skolimowski participated in the Venice Biennale of Art. His works are in the collections of, among others, the National Museum in Warsaw and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki.