New MeToo wave:

Trial against 90-year-old Roman Polanski in Paris

Roman Polanski at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986 with British actress Charlotte Lewis.

(Bild: APA/AFP)

Against the backdrop of a new MeToo wave in the French film industry, an eagerly awaited trial against filmmaker Roman Polanski begins in Paris on Tuesday. British actress Charlotte Lewis is accusing the star director of sexual violence. 

However, the trial is not about these allegations, but about a defamation suit that the actress filed against Polanski in 2020.

Will not be present himself
According to his lawyers, Polanski, who lives in Paris, will not be present at the trial. This is the first time that the now 90-year-old filmmaker has had to stand trial in France in connection with sexual violence, albeit only indirectly.

The star director, who has won numerous film awards such as the Oscar and the Palme d'Or at Cannes, has been accused of sexual violence by several women. However, there has only been one court case against him so far: in 1977 in the USA for raping the then 13-year-old Samantha Geimer.

The 90-year-old star director has to answer for allegations of sexual violence in court

(Bild: APA/AFP/Thomas SAMSON)

"I am also a victim of Polanski"
It is the only case in which Polanski has pleaded guilty, not for rape, but for illegal sexual intercourse with a minor. Although Geimer withdrew her complaint years ago, the US judiciary never dropped the case. The other cases are either time-barred or have not yet led to criminal charges.

Lewis had also waived her right to sue when she appeared before the press with a lawyer in 2010. "I am also a victim of Roman Polanski. He sexually abused me in the worst possible way when I was 16," the "New York Post" quoted the actress as saying.

A few days later, several media outlets pulled an interview from the archives that Lewis had given to the British tabloid "News of the World" in 1999. In it, she reported that she herself had wanted to seduce Polanski. "I knew that Roman had done crap in the USA, but not exactly what," the paper quoted her as saying.

"I was fascinated by him, I wanted to become his lover. (...) I probably wanted him more than the other way around," Lewis said according to the interview. She was 17 when they had sex for the first time and the affair lasted six months - until Polanski made a comment about her weight gain, which triggered an eating disorder in her. When confronted with her earlier statements, Lewis explained that "News of the World" had misquoted her and that she stood by her accusations against Polanski.

Charlotte Lewis starred in the 1986 Polanski film "Pirates".

(Bild: APA/AFP/Robyn BECK)

Polanski denies abuse
When Polanski released his film "Intrigue" in cinemas in 2019, he agreed to an in-depth interview with "Paris Match" for the first time in a long time. When asked about Lewis, he accused her of a "vile lie" and pulled out a clip of her interview from 1999. "Charlotte Lewis is always mentioned as one of my accusers, without mentioning her contradictions," he said. On the basis of this interview, Lewis filed her libel suit a few months later. Under French press law, such a complaint almost always leads to a trial.

The Paris proceedings are likely to attract a great deal of attention, as Polanski has become one of the main enemies of the MeToo movement alongside Woody Allen and Gérard Depardieu. When he was due to receive the French film award César in 2020, actress Adèle Haenel walked out of the event in protest. In the end, the entire leadership of the Film Academy felt compelled to resign.

Calls for a commission of inquiry
In recent months, however, Depardieu in particular has made negative headlines in France. He is under investigation for rape or sexual assault in several cases, and another case was dropped due to the statute of limitations. A documentary film in which he makes numerous sexist and vulgar remarks also caused a stir.

The actress Judith Godrèche, who is one of the most important representatives of the MeToo movement in France, recently called for a commission of inquiry into sexual violence in the film industry. The cinema world in her country is like "a family where nobody dares to report anyone". "We have to stop pretending we know nothing," she said at a hearing in the Senate.