This year, Jerzy Skolimowski, who received a nomination for his film “IO”, will fight for the Oscar. However, he is not the only artist nominated this year who has a connection with Poland. Already in June 2022, we learned the list of people who are entitled to honorary statuettes. This includes actor Michael J. Fox, composer Diane Warren and Euzhan Palcy – the first black woman to direct a production for a major Hollywood studio. Director Peter Weir was also among the winners. Not everyone knows that he also received a Polish award in the past.
The director’s achievements are significant
Today, Weir is a retired artist, but over the decades of his work, the Australian director has managed to mark his presence in the history of cinema. All thanks to respected productions, e.g. The screen adaptations of “Picnic at Hanging Rock” from 1975 and “Dead Poets Society” from 1989. Among the recognizable productions are also his first American films with Harrison Ford, “The Witness” and “The Mosquito Coast” from the mid-1980s or “The Truman Show” “, a psychological satire starring Jim Carrey. For his work, Weir received numerous awards, including the British and Australian Film Academy, but so far he has only been nominated for the Golden Globes and Oscars. The American Academy decided to award him an honorary statuette .
The Academy Board of Governors is honored to honor four individuals who have made indelible contributions to cinema and the world. […] Peter Weir is a director of great skill and artistry, and his work reminds us of the power of film to reveal the full range of human experience.
– said the president of the Academy David Rubin in a press statement, justifying the decision.
Peter Weir also received a Polish award. Why?
Known for his successful adaptations of literature, the artist also undertook to adapt the Polish author’s book to the screen. We are talking about the book by Sławomir Rawicz “Long March”, which described the escape of a group of mostly Polish prisoners from a Siberian gulag. The refugees traveled several thousand kilometers, e.g. through the Gobi Desert to India and Iran. The premiere of the film, entitled “Undefeated”, took place on April 8, 2011. Famous actors played in it, including Ed Harris and Colin Farrell, and the main role of the Polish officer leading Janusz’s escape was played by Jim Sturgess.
The prisoners of the gulag to which the protagonist of my film ends up do not rebel, they wait for death without any will. My hero can’t do that, he arranges an escape, he keeps moving forward. And that’s what’s beautiful about you, Poles. Even when you complain. Because only brokenhearted people don’t complain.
– said the director in an interview with Wojciech Orliński from “Gazeta Wyborcza”. It was because of “The Undefeated” that Weir was honored with the Polish award, which is not a film award. In 2011, he was awarded the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. The justification given was “merits in popularizing the history of the Polish nation”.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
