Many have decided to play, side-by-side, the fact that Polanski’s “An Officer and A Spy” is playing in competition and that only two female-directed films will be part of the main competition. Polanski, was recently expelled by the Academy because of his conviction in 1977 of statutory rape. “1 rapist. 2 women directors in competition….What else am I missing?” tweeted Melissa Silverstein, founder of the organization Women and Hollywood. Yikes. Barbera talked to Variety and compared the new Polanski to 2002’s excellent “The Pianist”. Barbera also defended Polanski’s inclusion, by saying that “An Officer and A Spy” shows the director “at the top of his game. He is one of the last great masters of European cinema, and he’s more than 80. At his age, he’s able to make a film that is an extraordinary reconstruction of a historical event.” This could turn out to be a much-talked about event of the movie world, as Polanski has been, by all accounts, blacklisted in Hollywood due to decade-old allegations of sexual misconduct resurfacing in the #MeToo era. Barbera is surely making a statement by having Polanski world premiering his latest at the 76th edition of the festival, which is set to take place August 28th to September 9th Contribute Hire me
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