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Jerzy Skolimowski
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Jerzy Skolimowski

Jerzy Skolimowski is the Polish-born director, writer, painter, and actor. Since graduating from the country's prestigious Film School in Lodz, he has directed more than 20 films.

At college, he took up boxing, which also became the subject of a 1961 feature he directed; and an onscreen sport for him in Andrzej Wajda's Innocent Sorcerers , which he also co-wrote. He also wrote and published several books of poems, short stories, and a play before working on screenplays, including Roman Polanski's 1962 classic Knife in the Water .

Following his early documentaries and short films, feature films that Mr. Skolimowski has directed and/or written include Moonlighting, starring Jeremy Irons, for which he was honored with the Best Screenplay award at the 1982 Cannes International Film Festival; Le Départ , starring Jean-Pierre Léaud, which won the Golden Bear Award at the 1967 Berlin International Film Festival; Deep End, starring Jane Asher and John Moulder-Brown; King, Queen, Knave, starring David Niven and Gina Lollobrigida; Success is the Best Revenge, starring Michael York; The Shout , starring Alan Bates and Susannah York, which won the Grand Prix at the 1978 Cannes International Film Festival; and The Lightship, starring Robert Duvall and Klaus Maria Brandauer, which won a Special Jury Prize at the 1985 Venice International Film Festival, as well as the Best Actor award for Mr. Duvall.

While he has appeared in some of his own films, he has also acted for other filmmakers. Among his notable movies as actor have been Taylor Hackford's White Nights ; Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! ; and Julian Schnabel's Before Night Falls .

Mr. Skolimowski's paintings have been exhibited across Europe and in the United States, and he has taken part in the Venice Biennale His work has been acquired by contemporary art museums in Poland and Greece; and by private collectors in the U.S., the U.K., France, Italy, among other countries.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2007.

Jerzy Skolimowski Facts

OccupationDirector, Screenwriter, Actor
BirthdayMay 5, 1938 (85)
SignTaurus
BirthplaceLodz, Poland

Selected Filmography

Not available.