The Polish film was among five productions in the running for an award for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.
Germany's All Quiet on the Western Front, directed by Edward Berger, was named Best International Feature Film, with its timely anti-militarist message, while also picking up the trophies for best cinematography, original score and production design, news outlets reported.
Meanwhile, Everything Everywhere All at Once, an American sci-fi action epic written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, took home seven awards, including best picture, director, original screenplay, lead actress, supporting actress, supporting actor and editing, as the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed out the Oscars in the early morning hours of Monday Polish time.
EO, a Polish-Italian co-production with a script by Skolimowski and Ewa Piaskowska, competed for an Oscar against movies including Argentina's Argentina, 1985, and Ireland's The Quiet Girl.
Ahead of the high-profile ceremony in Hollywood, Skolimowski told reporters that he was not expecting to win an Academy Award for EO, but added that being nominated in the best international film category was “a big honour.”
EO, which tells the story of a donkey on a journey from a Polish circus to an Italian slaughterhouse, was last year picked as Poland’s official entry for the foreign-language Oscar at the 2023 Academy Awards.
According to the Hollywood website Deadline, EO is “a vision of modern Europe seen through the eyes of a donkey on a stoic journey through a world where disaster and despair alternate with unexpected bliss."
The deadline.com website has also described the film as “an exemplary, fresh and radiant piece of work from an 84-year-old director who has not lost his energy or own way of seeing things."
Earlier this month, EO scooped six Eagle awards from the Polish Film Academy, including for best movie.
EO had its world premiere at last year’s Cannes Festival, winning the Grand Jury Prize. The movie has also won the Best Original Score trophy at the European Film Awards, Best International Film from the New York Film Critics Circle, and awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics’ Association for Best Film Not in the English Language and for Best Cinematography.
Skolimowski is one of Poland’s most internationally renowned film directors. His credits include Identification Marks, Barrier, Walkover, Hands Up, Deep End, Four Nights with Anna, and Essential Killing.
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Source: IAR, PAP, CNN, variety.com