Two years after being arrested in Swiss, the 'Carnage' director launches a documentary 'Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir' and finally receives his lifetime achievement award.
- Sep 28, 2011
AceShowbiz - Director Roman Polanski apologized to Samantha Greimer, the lady he sexually abused, through a documentary "Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir" that he premiered at the Zurich Film Festival on Tuesday, September 27. "She is a double victim: my victim and a victim of the press," the "Carnage" director says at the end of the film.
The memoir is directed by Laurent Bouzereau. It is based on some interviews with the 78-year-old director during his house arrest in 2009. The movie begins with a scene of the Swiss prison where Polanski was incarcerated at, and features photos of his resort of Gstaad in the Swiss Alps. "It was an Apocalyptic, surrealistic vision," Polanski recalled his past.
Polanski returned to Zurich two years after being arrested by Swiss police for having sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. Despite the legal trouble, Polanski was chosen as the honoree of lifetime achievement award by Zurich Film Festival in 2009, but he was unable to pick it up at that time. "Friends, what can I can say? Better late than never," he said to the audience when receiving the trophy.
"Two years, day for day," Polanski continued. "Certain parts of it I would rather forget. But I'm happy to be here, because I know that it was not only a blow to me, to my family, but also to the festival itself. It's a very moving moment for me."
Polanski has never returned to the U.S. since 1978 after pleading guilty to his sexual crime. In 2010, the U.S. officials attempted to get him extradited from Switzerland, but the Swiss government rejected the request.
