Polanski not coming to Gdynia film festival
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
03.06.2011 07:47
Roman Polanski will not be travelling to Poland to take part in the Gdynia Film Festival, a statement on the festival’s web site has announced.
“With the greatest of regret, and despite earlier confirmation of Roman Polanski's presence during the last two days the 36th Polish Film Festival, the director has told the organizers that he has changed his plans and will not be visiting Gdynia,” says the statement.
Director of the film festival, Leszek Kopec, said he received an email from Polanski on Thursday night stating that he would not be able to receive a lifetime achievements award or take part in workshops in Gdynia as planned.
The festival runs from 6 to 11 June.
The director is still wanted by the US justice system on charges of having sex with a 13 year-old in 1978.
Polanski was detained in Switzerland in 2009 while on his way from Paris to collect another lifetime achievement award, as the US applied for an extradition order to be able to bring the 78 year-old director to Los Angelis to face trial.
Switzerland eventually rejected the request last year and declared Polanski “a free man”.
He has not left France since. (pg)