The actor Oliver Masucci has underlined his admiration for the French filmmaker Roman Polanski. “I really wanted to work with Roman Polanski and have wanted to for a long time,” the 54-year-old said in Venice on Saturday. Masucci stars in Polanski’s new film, The Palace, which is screening at the film festival.

The German actor Milan Peschel (55), star of the film, also appreciated the experience and felt honored, he said. “The Palace” takes place in a Swiss hotel on the New Year’s Eve before the year 2000. In the elegant hotel, whose director is played by Masucci, a strange group gathers to celebrate the new millennium. Among others, Mickey Rourke and Fanny Ardant also play.

Polanski himself did not come to Venice. Producer Luca Barbareschi said that marketing the film was difficult. So far there is no French film distributor and it has not sold distribution rights in Great Britain or the United States. Barbareschi explained that Polanski’s latest film, An Officer and a Spy, which screened at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize, was also not released in theaters in the United States, Britain, Australia or New Zealand.

“And we wonder why there are wars. The Anglo-Saxon world should respect artists as much as the rest of the world,” Barbareschi said, adding: “There is no moral judgment on art.” He noted that Polanski’s films are screened on numerous streaming providers such as Netflix, which which brings “millions” to those platforms.”Can someone explain the logic of this to me?” he asked.

Since the rise of the #MeToo movement in 2017, several women have accused Polanski of sexual assault, particularly in the 1970s. Allegations he denies. A sexual abuse case against him has been pending in the United States for more than 40 years. Since then he has lived mainly in France and avoids visiting countries that have an extradition treaty with the United States.

From: APA/dpa/Reuters