Jerzy Skolimowski

[fiendishthingy]

The Criterion Channel has a new interview with Skolimowski.

[MichaelB]

It's now looking all but certain that the London retrospective will include all eight of the Polish titles (the 1960s and 21st-century quartets) plus Le Départ, Dialogue 20-40-60, Deep End, The Shout, Moonlighting and The Lightship. I'm very much hoping to include Success is the Best Revenge as well, but we're still working on that one. The four missing titles (The Adventures of Gerard, King Queen Knave, Torrents of Spring, Ferdydurke) are ones that Skolimowski has pretty much disowned for various reasons. Screening dates TBC, but all are likely to be within the 28 March-30 April timespan.

Sadly, we had to drop Success is the Best Revenge - the BFI tracked down a French-subtitled 35mm print, but we couldn't identify the UK rightsholder for love nor money: the original distribution rights expired decades ago, and the production company has also been formally wound up, at which point the trail went cold. We even contacted Skolimowski himself on the off-chance that it was him, but he denied it, and said that he'd be happier in any case if it wasn't shown. And by then I was right up against a double deadline (since this is a joint BFI Southbank and Kinoteka project, and they're producing their own marketing materials complete with final screening dates), so I had no choice but to leave it out.

But everything else is going ahead as planned (complete with four film-school shorts playing as support to Dialogue 20-40-60, just to increase the amount of authentic Skolimowski in that programme), and there'll be Skolimowski personal appearances (plural) at the end of March.

[GaryC]

It's now looking all but certain that the London retrospective will include all eight of the Polish titles (the 1960s and 21st-century quartets) plus Le Départ, Dialogue 20-40-60, Deep End, The Shout, Moonlighting and The Lightship. I'm very much hoping to include Success is the Best Revenge as well, but we're still working on that one. The four missing titles (The Adventures of Gerard, King Queen Knave, Torrents of Spring, Ferdydurke) are ones that Skolimowski has pretty much disowned for various reasons. Screening dates TBC, but all are likely to be within the 28 March-30 April timespan.

Sadly, we had to drop Success is the Best Revenge - the BFI tracked down a French-subtitled 35mm print, but we couldn't identify the UK rightsholder for love nor money: the original distribution rights expired decades ago, and the production company has also been formally wound up, at which point the trail went cold. We even contacted Skolimowski himself on the off-chance that it was him, but he denied it, and said that he'd be happier in any case if it wasn't shown. And by then I was right up against a double deadline (since this is a joint BFI Southbank and Kinoteka project, and they're producing their own marketing materials complete with final screening dates), so I had no choice but to leave it out.

But everything else is going ahead as planned (complete with four film-school shorts playing as support to Dialogue 20-40-60, just to increase the amount of authentic Skolimowski in that programme), and there'll be Skolimowski personal appearances (plural) at the end of March.

Given that it was an early Dolby film, any chance of a showing of The Shout with the stereo soundtrack? (I don't know how many 35mm Dolby prints were struck - not many, I'd guess. Presumably a stereo DCP is more likely?)

[MichaelB]

It’ll be a stereo DCP.

[MichaelB]

An interview with me about curating the BFI/Kinoteka Jerzy Skolimowski retrospective.

[MichaelB]

...and my onstage Q&A with Skolimowski himself, recorded on March 28th.