Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO wins European University Film Award

The European Film Academy and Filmfest Hamburg congratulate Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO which has been chosen by university students across Europe as the winner of this year’s European University Film Award (EUFA). Since October, five nominated films, based on the European Film Awards Feature and Documentary Film Selections 2022, have been viewed and discussed in 25 universities in 25 countries before each institution selected its favourite film. In early December, one student representative from each university attended a three-day meeting in Hamburg to decide on the overall winner.

EO was directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, written by Skolimowski and Eva Piaskowska, and produced by Piaskowska, Skolimowski and Eileen Tasca.

“Through the melancholic eyes of a donkey, Jerzy Skolimowski depicts a post-human odyssey across the absurdity of human cruelty and its relationship with nature. A masterclass on cinematic language as a means of expression, the film portrays a mélange of euphoric and traumatic experiences with a striking colour palette, daunting sound design and an almost brutalist approach to editing. Traversing a borderless Europe, EO embarks on a transient journey filled with magical realism and allegories. Enchanting the audience, the film allows for an experience of metamorphosis and transcendence,” said the jury, consisting of 25 students from the participating universities, about their choice.

The aim of this initiative, introduced in 2016 by the European Film Academy and Filmfest Hamburg is to involve a younger audience, to spread the European idea and to transport the spirit of European cinema to an audience of university students. It shall also support film dissemination, film education and the culture of debating.

The European University Film Award 2022 is supported by Hamburg Marketing and Hamburg Foundation for the Advancement of Research and Culture.