‘EO’ Director Jerzy Skolimowski And Co-Writer Ewa Piaskowska On Challenges Of Working With Animals: “We Were Terribly Optimistic” – Contenders Film: The Nominees
deadline.comNow in his mid-80s, Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski proved that age is just a number when his film EO premiered in Cannes last year, earning him the Jury Prize for this picaresque story of a donkey on the move, from good situations to bad.
His lucky streak continued this year when the film was Oscar-nominated for Best International Feature — surprisingly, his first nod from the Academy in a career spanning 60 years.
Accompanied by his wife and writing partner Ewa Piaskowska for a panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees event, Skolimowski revealed the inspiration behind his decision to make a film with an animal at its center. “I owe quite a lot to Robert Bresson and his [1966] film Au Hasard Balthazar,” he said. “One of the main characters is a donkey, but it’s a completely different story.
Bresson’s film tells the story of a few people located in a French village, and the donkey plays a rather supporting part. EO is a road movie where the donkey is the main character.
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