Jerzy Skolimowski

Biography

Jerzy Skolimowski is a Polish film director and screenwriter who has also worked as a dramatist, actor and painter. Born in Łódź, he began as a screenwriter for Andrzej Wajda's Innocent Sorcerers (1960) and made his directorial debut with The Menacing Eye (1960). In 1967 he won the Golden Bear for The Departure. His notable directing credits include Deep End (1970), The Shout (1978), Moonlighting (1982) and Essential Killing (2010). As an actor, he appeared in White Nights (1985), Before Night Falls (2000), Eastern Promises (2007) and Day of the Siege (2012). After a 17-year hiatus he returned to directing with Four Nights with Anna (2008), and his film EO (2022) won the Jury Prize at Cannes and was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards. In 2016 the Venice Film Festival honored him with its Golden Lion for lifetime achievement.

88years old

Turns 89 on May 5in 203 days

Born May 5, 1938Łódź
Star sign: TaurusThe sign runs April 20 to May 20

Movie Career

Films: 5
Career span: 30 years1982 to 2012

Every film, newest first

2012Day of the SiegeIMDb rating 4.4
2007Eastern PromisesIMDb rating 7.6
2000Before Night FallsIMDb rating 7.1
1985White NightsIMDb rating 6.7
1982MoonlightingIMDb rating 7.3

Genres

Did you know?!

First role
Jerzy Skolimowski wrote the script for Andrzej Wajda's Innocent Sorcerers after Wajda challenged him, and he also played a boxer in the finished film.
Early training
Skolimowski enrolled at the Łódź Film School to skip the long apprenticeship before directing features. Advised by Andrzej Munk, he shot student films over several years so they could be re-edited into a feature, finishing Rysopis by graduation.
Behind the camera
Skolimowski quickly wrote and directed Moonlighting, drawing on his own encounters with Polish citizens stuck in London. It was the fifth of his Polish sextet and his most successful film both critically and commercially.
A change of course
Skolimowski studied ethnography, history and literature in college, where he also boxed. His first film, Identification Marks: None, took boxing as its subject.