Since its humble beginnings the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography CAMERIMAGE distinguishes filmmakers - individualists who have the courage to follow their own artistic path in a world dominated by work made for strictly commercial, mass use. It gives us a distinct pleasure to announce that this year's recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Directing will be Jim Sheridan, a remarkable Irish filmmaker whose unbelievably humane stories of people struggling with life's adversities capture the attention of worldwide audiences for over two decades. That is because this six-time Academy Award nominated director, producer and screenwriter recounts tales of ordinary people, beautiful in their dreams and failings, often not being able to overcome the limitations of their own bodies, historical context or community in which they live, but defying nonetheless the cruel fate. Sheridan's films display before the viewer a world full of unjust governments, poor living conditions and negligence towards other people, but they are not made to depress, but to elevate the human spirit, to inspire, to show that fighting for one's beliefs can result in a better future.

Jim Sheridan; Jim Sheridan Archives
His talent had to wait to be discovered. Jim Sheridan debuted only when he was 40 years old, before that he tried his luck in various ventures both in his native Ireland, and on emigration in America and Canada. But what feature debut it was! Based on a true story, My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown was a complete work of art, devoid of the mistakes usually made by first time directors. It also provided Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker with Oscar recognition. By recounting the life of Christy Brown - a man born with cerebral palsy who could only move his left foot, but became a painter and a writer with the help of his mom - Sheridan presented an unbelievable artistic integrity and sensitivity towards human dignity. His debut has also seen the emergence of a motif that somehow defined his films to come - showing true Ireland, swept by poverty and unemployment, always on the margins of Western Europe. His next project, the amazing The Field with Richard Harris, John Hurt and still relatively unknown Sean Bean, showed a conflict between the traditional values and the money-fueled progress. The plot revolves around an Irish family fighting for the land with an American investor who wants to build a new highway. Whereas poignantly realistic In the Name of the Father and The Boxer, in which Sheridan continued his work with Daniel Day-Lewis, had the history of I.R.A. as one of themes, but mostly focused on young people scarred for life by the political and social climate they had to grow up in.

Still from "My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown"
Still from "In the Name of the Father"
Sheridan is not a prolific director, he takes his time with each of his films, trying to plan it as much as he can, while earning money by shooting commercials and other projects. After The Boxer his fans had to wait six long years for his next movie. In America turned out to be a major change in Sheridan's career. Not only the story of an Irish family emigrating to America was based on his own experiences (he wrote the script with two of his daughters, Kirsten and Naomi), but he also slightly altered his directorial style. The film displayed more visual flair and a sort of an ephemeral quality to the events depicted on the screen. Just like his previous projects, however, it remained a work of emotional honesty and positive message, here achieved by showing the characters' incredible journey towards brighter future. In his subsequent films, Get Rich or Die Tryin', Brothers and Dream House, Sheridan bravely charted the territory of genre cinema and tried new things both in terms of form and narrative. But he never forgot about what attracted him to filmmaking - diverse, socially engaged, humane stories about people struggling with life's odds to fulfill their dreams and find their way out of seemingly inescapable situations.

Still from "In America"
Still from "Brothers"
Jim Sheridan has directed as many as seven different actors and actresses to Academy Award nominations (Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Richard Harris, Pete Postlethwaite, Emma Thompson, Samantha Morton, Djimon Hounsou). His work always includes a creative use of the visual possibilities of film as an art form - he has collaborated with such talented cinematographers as Jack Conroy, Peter Biziou, Chris Menges, Declan Quinn, Frederick Elmes and Caleb Deschanel. However, what matters the most is the fact that Jim Sheridan has never lost sight of once chosen artistic path. His films are always full of interesting themes and afterthoughts. They are universal and do not surrender to the passing of time. They generate as diverse emotional responses as tears of affection and inspiration to live one's life fully. We anticipate with great joy Jim Sheridan's arrival in Bydgoszcz to honor him with the Camerimage Lifetime Achievement Award for Directing.