Roman Polanski’s César Awards Honor Inspires Protest from Feminist Groups
Roman Polanski was named President of the César Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, and women are not accepting the news without a fight.
According to stories from The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, and Deadline, the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma granted this honor to Polanski — who pleaded guilty in 1977 to one count of statutory rape and has been avoiding sentencing every since — without a second thought.
“Artist, film-maker, producer, screenwriter, actor, director — there are many words to define Roman Polanski,” the Académie said in a statement. “But there is only one to express our admiration and enchantment: thank you, Mr. President.”
But not everyone is willing to forget Polanski’s history “We are nauseated,” the feminist group Osez le Féminisme (Dare Feminism) said in a statement.
Claire Serre-Combe, a member of Osez le Féminisme, called Polanski’s appointment “shameful.” “We cannot let this pass,” she emphasized to Agence France-Presse. “Making Polanski president is a snub to rape and sexual assault victims. The quality of his work counts for nothing when confronted with the crime he committed, his escape from justice, and his refusal to face up to his responsibilities.”
Osez le Féminisme and other feminist groups are planning to boycott the awards and are calling on protesters to demonstrate at the ceremony venue on February 24.
Laurence Rossignol, France’s minister for women’s rights, criticized the academy’s “indifference to the facts.” “It’s no big deal to the organizers that Roman Polanski is being prosecuted in the United States and has committed the rape of a 13-year-old child,” she said.
Meanwhile, culture minister Audrey Azoulay seems to be justifying the decision by separating Polanski’s past from his work. “The case will continue to haunt Roman Polanski the rest of his life,” she said. “But he nevertheless remains a filmmaker of great talent…”
This development echoes the recent controversies surrounding Nate Parker, Casey Affleck, and Mel Gibson in U.S. entertainment. Many viewers and executives in show business would agree with Azoulay — artists’ personal lives and misdeeds should cast no shadow over their work. Our beliefs, however, tend to align with Rossignol and Osez le Féminisme: the fact that Polanski is a talented and prolific filmmaker (“Chinatown,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Pianist”) unfairly shields him from justice and consequence. Or as, Osez le Féminisme phrased it, Polanski is “protected by his status as a celebrity.”
The Césars might be “just” an awards ceremony, as former culture minister Aurélie Filippetti opined, but their support of Polanski is tantamount to shrugging off rape as “just” a crime.
That’s “just” not acceptable.
