Warsaw (AFP)
Roman Polanski has canceled a planned visit to the famous Lodz Film School (center) on Saturday, the meeting was contested by a group of students in the context of new charges of rape against the director. .
"At the request of Roman Polanski, the meeting at the Film School of Lodz, which was to be held Saturday, November 30, was canceled," said the institution in a statement of two sentences.
The day before, Polanski came to the Cinergia European Film Forum Gala in Lodz, where he received the Glan d'Or statuette rewarding "rebel filmmakers going against the current of fashion and trends". He presented his latest film "J'accuse".
The rector of the Film School, of which Polanski is a former student, Mariusz Grzegorzek, said at the gala that "99% of the students were waiting for his visit".
Previously, a petition launched on the internet to cancel this meeting and referring to "at least five charges" of rape against him, was rejected by the management of this establishment as "inappropriate". The appeal was signed until Thursday by 116 people.
Still pursued by US justice for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl 40 years ago, accused of rape or assault four times by other women, Polanski was recently blamed by a French photographer , Valentine Monnier, who claims to have been "beaten" and raped by the director in 1975, when she was 18 years old.
Polanski challenged this accusation.
© 2019 AFP