What is the origin of the Chairman of the Jury for this year's Golden Earl Awards?, Acting as a "liaison" and filming a "donkey barking" movie | Director | Jury
There are many titles for Jazz Skolymovsky, including Polish director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and painter. This year, he has also gained a new title as the chairman of the judging committee for the main competition unit of the Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Earl Awards.
On June 14th, at the Chairman's Forum of the Golden Earl Awards Jury, this film master with a long name and title shared his creative journey and insights into film art with the audience. The reporter was ready to listen to the book, but surprisingly, Skolimovsky's expression was very easy to understand. He was good at giving examples and telling stories, and occasionally had a bit of cold humor.
When talking about the relationship between the film director and the audience, Skolimovsky tapped on the armrest of the sofa with his elbow and said, "Hi, do you understand? If you understand, it means my expression has been understood. The film cannot leave too much blank space, otherwise the audience will get lost. The director needs to play games with the audience appropriately, and on the basis of understanding the audience's acceptance ability and aesthetic level, work together to create the desired effect."
The Roar of a Donkey
Skolimovsky, who was half trapped in the sofa, had an Italian "godfather" style. At the age of 85, he was wearing a black suit jacket and delicate cufflinks on a white shirt, but the first two buttons were open. His hair was snow-white, but his two eyebrows were jet black, with sharp eyebrows. The staff handed him black coffee and then gradually brought the table and placed tissues on it. When he picked up a cup of coffee with his back hand, it reminded me of last year's annual keyword on Bilibili - "elegance".
"How can I introduce him to you?" Faced with this versatile filmmaker who is not so familiar to Chinese audiences, Marco Muller, the artistic director of the Shanghai University Film Art Center and a special professor at the Shanghai Film Academy, who serves as the host, felt a headache. He prepared a lot of materials for this interview, and during communication, he would occasionally review the tablet on his lap, carry a canvas bag with him, and even hold a collection of Skolimovsky's paintings. In order to bring the audience closer, Marco Muller deliberately threw an Easter egg - "You should have all watched his film," The Avengers, "really, I'm not lying to you."
In fact, Skolimovsky was also a poet, a drummer in a jazz band, and an amateur boxer. His first contact with the film was playing the role of a boxer, and the director's first feature film was also about boxing for the Polish Organizing Committee. At that time, he had only studied at the Film Academy for three or four days and successfully won the bid. This film also won an award at the Budapest Sports Festival.
When Skolimovsky solemnly stated that he had a fight on set with an Austrian actor who accidentally leaked his name during filming, you absolutely believe he could really do it. "Sometimes there is a male competition between directors and male actors, comparing who is more important and who is stronger, although not always in such a dramatic way. The fighting mentality between creators may help stimulate creativity, but sometimes it can also make the set precarious." This is also why he later chose to focus on donkeys and shoot "Donkey Roar".
His new work "Donkey Roar", which was released in 2022, won the Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Film. It was also screened at this year's Shanghai International Film Festival. The protagonist of the film is a donkey, and the English name "EO" is a simulation of the donkey's call. "Just like this," Skolimovsky demonstrated the correct pronunciation on site, lifelike.
When it came to donkeys, Skolimovsky became soft all over. "Their temperaments are too sweet, and if they could be smaller, I would really want to keep them as pets." During the filming of the film, there were three breaks every day, and Skolimovsky didn't choose to have a cup of coffee or smoke to relax. Instead, he went to the donkey shed to see the three donkey actors in the film. "They are always patiently waiting for me, and I will whisper softly to them, never using complex and lengthy literary sentences, but using a tone similar to when talking to pets at home and saying, 'Oh, you are the best treasure, the best animal in the world.'"
At a festival in Italy, Skolimovski first noticed the eyes of a donkey. In the noisy atmosphere of the festival, the surroundings were filled with the cries of other animals, but the donkey remained silent, standing far away, with innocent big eyes open, as if pondering something, as if understanding the meaning of all animal calls. "That was what I thought and observed when I first saw a donkey's eyes. It seemed to say, 'This world belongs to you, and as a donkey, it's enough for me to observe and comment on it.' Through filming a movie with the donkey as the protagonist, he also wanted to break the traditional linear narrative technique. 'The world that a donkey observes is often accidental, fragmented, with many gaps in between.'"
Some viewers laughed after watching "Donkey Roar" and said that the leading actor in the film, Donkey, should be awarded the honor of "Best Actor". Back then, Skolimovsky also had the same idea. In the 1960s, his first professional film "Take It Easy" made it onto a film honor list in Paris, but another film topped the list. With a somewhat dissatisfied attitude, Skolimovsky went to watch the movie and was deeply attracted by the plot, and the best actor in it was a donkey. "The donkey actor's facial expression was perfect, and in the end, he died in a flock of sheep. When the lights in the cinema were on, I found tears streaming down my cheeks. That was the only time I cried while watching a movie, and I was deeply moved by the donkey. Animal characters can make you believe that its performance is real, and this is a lesson I learned from that director."
Father was born in Dalian
Skolimovsky has directed over 20 works, including "Departure," which won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, "The Call of Death," which won the Jury Award at the Cannes International Film Festival, "Moonlight," which won the Best Screenplay Award, and "The Necessary Killing," which won the Jury Special Award at the Venice International Film Festival and the Best Actor Award at the Volpi Cup. He also won the Lifetime Achievement Golden Lion Award at the Venice International Film Festival.
This year, Hou Xiaoxian's "City of Sorrow" has become one of the popular films at the Shanghai International Film Festival. Marco Muller introduced that the film has a unique aesthetic of long shots, which was actually invented by Skolimovsky and many well-known directors will follow suit.
"I don't know about that," Skolimovsky said indifferently, just like the attitude he maintained on his face most of the time. "We all have competition among New Wave filmmakers. In the mid-1960s, we competed over who had the longest, most complex, and most skillful long shots. Everyone would use their limited camera positions to shoot longer shots." He really wanted to show the audience the charm of practice, not just theory. He suddenly interrupted Marco Muller and said, "This discussion seems too theoretical. Why don't we tell a story about our father to help everyone relax?"
Skolimovsky's father was born in Northeast China. His grandfather was a famous engineer and architect who was responsible for building the Trans Siberian Railway in Northeast China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from Moscow to Vladivostok. "At that time, a collaborator came to ask his grandfather to design a new city, which later became a very famous Chinese city called Dalian." He smiled and said, "My grandfather can be said to be the founder of the old city of Dalian. The urban planning of the squares and roads radiating outward from the old city of Dalian was done by his grandfather. Under the arrangement of fate, my father was born somewhere near Dalian, China."
After speaking, Skolimovsky picked up his coffee cup, his old fingertips seeming to tremble slightly, but he could still feel a stubborn force. Nowadays, he is still continuing his film creation. "Artists need to have the courage to take risks and find new things. I am in my 80s and still feel like a young director, never complacent, and can always climb higher."
