Monday, November 28, 2022

Poland’s Oscar© 2023 Entry for Best International Feature: ‘Eo’ directed by Jerzy Skolimowski

 

Poland’s Oscar© 2023 Entry for Best International Feature: ‘Eo’ directed by Jerzy Skolimowski

Twice this is alluded to. First when Eo wanders into the woods and visits ancient gravestones which are marked by Hebrew letters. The second time is at the end after his endless odyssey on earth searching for the one who loved him most and lost him. “Like sheep to the slaughter” is a phase often associated with the Jews who were herded into conditions worse than those of animals, into boxcars and into gas chambers. So we see cattle herded into slaughter.

This is no Bambi. No Disneyification for this Burro. The animal is lovable and one senses its view of the outside world from its actions, one even senses its emotions.

The world is a mysterious place as seen through the eyes of an animal.
On his journey, EO, a gray donkey with melancholic eyes, meets good
and bad people, experiences joy and sorrow as the wheel of fortune at every turn transforms his luck into disaster and his despair into
unexpected happiness. But never, at any instant, does he lose his innocence.

Watch the trailer here.

The telling of Eo’s story is also particularly Polish featuring the woods of of Jerzy Kosinski’s novel and feature The Painted Bird, the woods of Polansky’s childhood and of countless others who as as children, women and partisans during the war took to the woods as a means of escape. But here the victim has no voice and humans are only the willing and unwilling accessories to his plight as he tries to avoid the pitfalls of the world.

And we feel deeply for Eo who never says a word. What is the magic Skolimowski employs to make this movie so moving?

Jerzy Skolimowski and EO, played by Taco, Ola, Marietta, Ettore, Rocco and Mela

This is the first movie that the 84-year-old Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski has made in seven years.

His wish was to pay homage to the cinema of Robert Bresson who inspired him to write this modern tale, whose main character is a Sardinian donkey:
“Several decades ago, I said in an interview (I think it was Cahiers du Cinéma) that the only film that moved me to tears was Au Hasard Balthazar (1966). I think I discovered it right after it came out. Since then, I haven’t shed a single tear at the cinema. Thus, what I owe to Robert Bresson is to have acquired a strong conviction that making an animal a character in the film is not only possible, but can also be a source of emotion."

EO is a poetic work, a metaphorical vision of the world.
“I wanted above all to make an emotional film, to base the narration on emotions, much more than in all my previous films.”

During his career Jerzy Skolimowski has directed very great actors like Robert Duvall, or Jeremy Irons —” two of the most generous with whom I have worked, wonderful beings — but, directing a donkey on the screen, calls for any obviously other springs.”

“Directors use intellectual arguments to get actors the desired effect, use language to provoke their emotions. With my donkey, the only way to persuade him to do anything was tenderness: words whispered in his ear and a few friendly caresses. Raising your voice, showing impatience or nervousness would have been the shortest path to disaster.”

“In Poland we have an animal protection law. Everyone, including the donkeys, can work up to 8 hours on a set. When they shoot, we are responsible for them, they are our actors. We make sure that they do not feel stress during the shots, that they enjoy the work and the contact with the film crew. We also ensure their comfort throughout their presence on set. In this specific case, they were also under the permanent supervision of a veterinarian, which gave us additional assurance for their good health and well-being. During the preparations and during the realization, we ensured that the breaks and the night rest conditions were respected.”

Watch the trailer here.

Eo, in the words of NY Times review by Manohla Dargis, “adheres to the hero’s journey only to deviate drastically from that template. In short, EO sets off on an adventure, enters a realm of near-supernatural wonder, encounters fabulous and less so forces, experiences challenges and temptations (including a wreath of carrots). He also meets Isabelle Huppert in an Italian villa, though she ignores him. His journey is strange, absurd, exhilarating and terrifying.”

We pity the poor animal and in our pity we should recognize our own cruelty to animals as well as to other human beings who are treated like animals within our own society and in front of our own eyes.

Jerzy Skolimowski worked with Ewa Piaskowska on writing the screenplay, following a now well-established method: “Eo is the third screenplay we have written together. The method is simple: one of us has an idea (in the case of Eo, it was Ewa, in the case of Essential Killing, it was me), then we give ourselves a good session of brainstorming. Then it’s Ewa who takes care of most of the writing, with me making adjustments, whether it’s additions or cuts. We usually write in Polish, then it’s always Ewa who takes
in charge of the English translation.”

The Directors’ Fortnight has shown the films of Skolimowski starting in 1965 with Walkover, his second feature film, acclaimed for its innovative form. “At the time, a young American filmmaker came to congratulate me after the screening of Walkover, and although my English was limited at the time, we instantly became friends. It was Jack Nicholson, who was also discovering Cannes. Smoking a joint with him on the beach that night remains one of my fondest memories from Cannes.”

This is the seventh time in his career that Jerzy Skolimowski has been invited in Competition to Cannes. “Coming back is a bittersweet experience. Many people I have met at the Festival over the years are no longer of this world, others cannot come. I myself have become a bit of a recluse and I feel better in my house in the forest in the middle of nowhere. The world today does not inspire much optimism — a war is raging in Europe. It seems absurd to celebrate the premiere of a movie, with the tragedy unfolding every day in Ukraine.”

Despite its dramatic nature, Eo is also a film rich in funny moments. What makes Jerzy Skolimowski laugh? “I don’t think I’ve laughed heartily in a long time. But I do smile sometimes — especially at my dog, Bufon, for his playfulness, or for the way he tilts his head when he listens to men’s conversations, as if he doesn’t want miss a word.”

International sales agent, Hanway, was founded by Jeremy Thomas who announced his own retirement this year in Cannes. Skolimowski and Thomas have a long-standing relationship that began when Thomas produced his second film Le Cri, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes in 1978. They also collaborated on Essential Killing, which won the Special Prize of the Jury and the Best Actor Prize at the Venice Film Festival, as well as 11 Minutes, also screened in Competition in Venice.

Says Skolimowski, “Jeremy is a production icon. It’s always been a real privilege to see how he thinks, what he prioritizes, how he makes decisions or works with directors. He is in a separate class.”

Jeremy Thomas was born into a film family — his father and uncle were directors. He started in film laboratories and graduated as an editor, working on many films and eventually editing Family Life by Ken Loach. In 1974, Thomas produced his first film, Mad Dog Morgan by Philippe Mora with Dennis Hopper, then founded Recorded Picture Company. Thomas then produced numerous personal films, including Investigaton of a Passion, Eureka and Insignificance by Nicolas Roeg, and Furyo by Nagisa Ôshima with David Bowie. He eventually founded Hanway as the nternational sales agent for his films.

Hanway and its distributors did not stint on giving the film plenty of festival exposure, a good way to create word of mouth actively as it rolls out theatrically. After debuting in Cannes where Skolimowski won the Jury Prize and the Best Composer Award went to Pawel Mykietyn, it went on to a list of festivals that reads like a a primer for filmmakers to try to follow themselves: Jerusalem, Hong Kong, Hungary’s Miskolc International Film Festival, Toronto, Gdynia, Vancouver, Hamburg, Busan, Rio, London, New York, Mill Valley, Hamptons, Grand Lyon in France, Bergen, Santa Fe, Cologne, Philadelphia, Valladolid, Montclair, Vienna, Geneva, Seville, AFI Fest, Hawaii, Belfast, Tallinn, Ljubljana, MoMa, Taipei’s Golden Horseshoe.

ISA Hanway has licensed the film to Sideshow for US (the new kid on the block who is working with Janus on the theatrical release as they did with Oscar Winner Drive My Car. Founded by longtime IFC President Jonathan Sehring and his acquisitions chief Jason Hellerstein, Sideshow is also distributing Cannes films The Eight Mountains, Tori and Lokita, and All That Breathes. Other distriutors include Films We Like for Canada, ARP Selection for France, Soda for Peru and Colombia, Nitrato for Portugal, Rapid Eye for Germany, Applause for Taiwan, DDDream for China, Fine Films for Japan, Front Row for MENA and Iran, Odeon for Greece and The Searchers for Belgium.

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SydneysBuzz by Sydney Levine is about the international film circuit, films from places far and near that you may not hear about often, like Cannes or the newly launched Red Sea Film Festival.

Saturday, November 19, 2022

Austria’s Oscar© 2023 Entry for Best International Feature: ‘Corsage’ by Marie Kreutzer

 

Austria’s Oscar© 2023 Entry for Best International Feature: ‘Corsage’ by Marie Kreutzer;Marie Kreutzer

Vicky Krieps, Luxembourg’s top star

Israel’s Oscar© 2023 Submission for Best International Feature: ‘Cinema Sabaya’ by Orit Fouks Rotem

 

Israel’s Oscar© 2023 Submission for Best International Feature: ‘Cinema Sabaya’ by Orit Fouks Rotem;Orit Fouks Rotem

A young filmmaker teaching a video workshop in a community center puts cameras into the hands of eight women, Arab and Jewish, and asks them to film their lives. As they share their footage, the group dynamic breaks down barriers and challenges beliefs. As the women learn more about each other, it changes them.

Under Israel’s Oscar entry selection process, the work that wins the Best Film Ophir (Israel’s Oscar) is automatically submitted to the Academy. Not only did Cinema Sabaya win for Best Film, it also won Best Director for Orit Fouks Rotem, Supporting Actress for Joanna Said, Costumes by Rachel Ben Dahanand Casting by Emmanuelle Mayer.

Cinema Sabaya is Rotem’s first feature after a trio of award-winning shorts Veil, Voice Over and Staring Match.

The film grew from Rotem’s real-life experiences over eight years. It began just after finishing film school when her mother was in such a group. She began creating similar groups for research as she was writing the script. Plus her life went on which included having two children. By necessity, the script was only a blueprint for action, experiences in which much of the acting was performed in real time for the camera without rehearsals. It was about 60% scripted.

Cinema Sabaya creates a world within a world. While all except one of the women in the group of eight were professionally trained actors, the exercises in filmmaking they were assigned within the film were watched by them as they were being filmed in real time on camera. Within the group setting of the workshop, there was plenty of improvisation going along with the scripted action.

Working with cinematographer Itay Marom in giving each of the in-film videos different styles, from fake documentary home movies to more restrained, artfully composed shots, each exercise reflects what the women directors wanted to express to the rest of the group. However common the events which have been experienced by all the women on both sides of the camera, tension mounts when the intentions of the teacher and the effect of the group dynamics are called into question by members of the group. The discussions about their home lives are calm and sometimes amusing but become more jarring when more intimate personal issues or politics arise as subjects. How this plays out in the film is not so much describable to readers as it is felt emotionally while witnessing it. It is not high drama in any way, but it is deeply affecting emotionally and the audience remains on alert throughout the film.

The ensemble acting keeps the film together, as characters’ personalities mix together into a cohesiveness that the world could use more of to build bridges across cultures.

Joanna Said

To hear from one of the outstanding actresses, Joanna Said, winner of the Best Supporting Actress Award by the Israeli Film Academy, reading the script did not reveal how the film itself would go. It depended upon the director. The actors really bonded. Each had a back story which informed the moments they were on camera. Though their stories were never revealed, the audience sensed the depth of the characters. In her case, no one expected her actions; even the woman in dialog with her was taken by surprise and reacted equally spontaneously. But, she said, she encouraged the other, played by the only non-professional, Liora Levi, to keep goading her on to uncover the emotion to the point of her reacting as she did.

She also said that the actors all met for the first time on set and were not allowed to mix at all off the set. That kept it tight and contained all the acting out of real emotions as they were felt.

For the director, it was difficult to make it as if it were a documentary while in reality, it was all fictional.

The Director, Orit Fouks Rotem

The director, Orit Fouks Rotem, clarified that the issues covered had come up in her research groups and she had to be careful of how they were set up. She took counsel with her cast and was careful not to step too far over lines that she was aware of, particularly in the Arab-Israeli domain. The actresses were free to express themselves as they wanted. The film was well received by both Arabs, Muslims, Christians and Jews who watched it in the festivals and theaters. It also played well in Turkey, the only Moslem country it played thus far.

“I want to make pictures that are meaningful to people,” Rotem said. She is currently working on a TV series, developing the lives of the characters more fully.

Written and directed by Orit Fouks Rotem, the cast includes Dana IvgyAseel FarhatKhawlah Hag-DebsyJoanna SaidAmal MurkusMarlene BajaliYulia TagilRuth LandauLiora Levi, and Orit Samuel.

International sales are by Memento. The U.S. distributor is Kino Lorber who will do an exceptional job in theaters, streaming and with the non-theatrical markets. Many groups will be eager to show this film and in fact, remaking it to cross other cultural lines, e.g., Black, White, Latino, Asian, etc. would be very effective.