Roman Polanski pulls out of Cesars jury amid outrageJanuary 24, 2017 - 17:13 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The film director Roman Polanski has pulled out of this year's Cesars, the French equivalent of the Oscars, BBC News reports. His appointment last week to head the jury had outraged women right's groups, who called for a boycott of next month's televised ceremony. The award-winning director has been wanted in the US for decades after admitting to sex with a minor. The "controversy... deeply saddened Roman Polanski and affected his family," said his lawyer Herve Temime. "However, in order not to disturb the Cesars ceremonies, which should focus on the cinema and not on the appointment of the (event's) president, Roman Polanski has decided not accept the invitation... and will not preside over the next Cesars ceremonies," he said. The row was "stoked by completely false information", Temime added. 'Shocking' decision The French Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques, which runs the Cesars, had last week defended their choice, praising the director as an "insatiable aesthete". France's women's minister Laurence Rossignol had called it a "shocking" decision for the 83-year-old director to preside over the Cesars. An online petition calling for Polanski to be removed as head of the jury had received more than 42,000 signatures by Friday. Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles in 1977, but then fled the US. He spends his time between France, Poland, his ancestral homeland, and Switzerland, which have refused to extradite him. The 42nd Cesars ceremony will take place in Paris on 24 February. Top stories The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. The festival made the news public on March 19, saying that “several options are considered in order to preserve its running” Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |