VENICE, Aug 30, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Roman Polanski’s new film premieres in
Venice Friday after the defiant director lashed out at critics and as fury
over his inclusion in the festival cast a shadow over the star-studded
celebration of cinema.
Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy”, a historical thriller about the
persecution of the French Jewish army officer Alfred Dreyfus, has been a
lightning rod for criticisms of the film festival, already embroiled in a
second year of controversy over the place of female film-makers.
The 86-year-old, who was convicted for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old
in 1978, is not due to appear at the festival.
Venice organisers have been forced to defend the decision to include “An
Officer and a Spy” among the 21 movies selected to compete for the top prize.
Only two films in the running are directed by women.
Critics have said the move is out of touch in the era of #MeToo.
“This is a new world and behaviour that would have been swept under the
carpet and dismissed as ‘this is just the way it is’ is no longer
acceptable,” Melissa Silverstein, founder of Women and Hollywood, told AFP.
Polanski on Thursday responded via an interview with French writer Pascal
Bruckner in which he dismissed new abuse claims against him.
He said these were “absurd stories by women I have never seen before in my
life who accuse me of things which supposedly happened more than half a
century ago”.
In the interview, contained in a press pack released to accompany his film,
the director was asked by Bruckner if “as a Jew” he will “survive the
present-day neofeminist McCarthyism”.
The director draws a parallel with his film, which traces the history of
the late 19th century Dreyfus Affair — the wrongful conviction of a Jewish
officer against a backdrop of virulent anti-Semitism.
“In the story, I sometimes find moments I have experienced myself, I can
see the same determination to deny the facts and condemn me for things I have
not done. Most of the people who harass me do not know me and know nothing
about the case,” Polanski said.
– A ‘last master’ of cinema –
Polanski fled to France in 1978 and has been a fugitive ever since from the
US justice system, despite repeated attempts to have him extradited.
He is currently suing the Academy of Motion Pictures for stripping him of
his membership.
Venice festival director Alberto Barbera defended Polanski’s inclusion,
calling him “one of the last masters still active in European cinema”.
The controversy has triggered a heated debate that has threatened to take
the sparkle off the glitzy gathering.
Argentine filmmaker Lucrecia Martel, president of the judging panel for
this year’s Golden Lion top award, told the festival’s opening news
conference that the inclusion of Polanski had made her “uncomfortable” and
that she would not attend a celebration of his movie.
But she later released a statement stressing that she did not object to the
selection of the film.
“I have no prejudice against the film and naturally I will watch it in the
same way as all other films in competition,” she said.
The festival is also facing criticism for presenting a new film in a side
event from director Nate Parker, who was embroiled in a rape trial while
still at university.