“EO” with the European Film Award for original score

Paweł Mykietyn won the European Film Award for the original score to the film “EO” by Jerzy Skolimowski, co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. The picture is this year’s Polish candidate for the Oscar. On November 23, the European Film Academy announced the winners of the awards in eight categories, including for cinematography, editing, sound and costumes. The statuettes were presented during a gala held on December 10 in Reykjavik.

This is the second award for the Polish composer for the original score to the film “EO”. He received his first – Cannes Soundtrack Award – in May this year during the 75th Cannes International Film Festival. It was also recently nominated for the 13th Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA) in the category of independent foreign language films.

The director of the film, Jerzy Skolimowski, was also nominated for the European Film Awards. Although he did not receive an award for directing, he was distinguished by a group of students from 25 countries who decided to award him the European University Film Award (EUFA). The justification reads that „through the eyes of a donkey, Jerzy Skolimowski presents a post-human journey through the absurdity of human cruelty and its relationship with nature. The film presents the mastery of the film language as a means of expression, presents a weave of euphoric and traumatic experiences, strikes with its color palette, discouraging sound and almost brutalist approach to editing. Traveling across Europe without borders, “EO” embarks on an ephemeral journey that is filled with magical realism and allegory. Delighting the audience, the film allows you to experience metamorphosis and transcendence.”

Awarded in Cannes

The picture “EO” had its world premiere in Cannes, where it received the Jury Prize. It was also presented in competitions at major festivals in Toronto and Gdynia, and opened New Horizons in Wrocław. Most recently, he was awarded the Ribera del Duero Award for Best Director at the Valladolid Film Festival in Spain, won the Arab Critics’ Award for Best European Film and the Best International Award – an award presented by the New York Film Critics’ Circle.

The National Board of Review placed “EO” among the top five international films of 2022, Cahiers du Cinema ranked it fourth on a similar list, and The New York Times journalist placed the film in the honorable first place.