Polish cinema museum honours veteran director Roman Polanski

The Cinema Museum in the central Polish city of Łódź is holding a special event to mark the 90th birthday of Roman Polanski, one of the finest living directors.

Roman Polanski

PAP/EPA/JULIEN WARNAND

The event opens on Friday with the screening of a digitally remastered version of Polanski's 1962 full-length debut Knife in the Water. The film won an Oscar nomination and paved the way for the director to an international career.

Roman Polanski. Photo: EPA/JULIEN DE ROSA

The programme of the three-day event in Łódź includes the 1988 thriller Frantic, starring Harrison Ford and Emmanuelle Seigner, and the 2002 war drama The Pianist.

This last film, based on the wartime memoirs of Polish Jewish pianist Władysław Szpilman, won three Academy Awards, for directing, screenplay and best actor for Adrien Brody.

Polanski was born in Paris on August 18, 1933. He graduated from the world-famous Polish film school in Łódź in 1959.

Aktor, reżyser Roman Polański obchodzi dziś 90 urodziny. Na zdj. z żoną, aktorką Barbarą Kwiatkowską w klubie studenckim Żak. Gdańsk, 1959 r. pic.twitter.com/atHYLS9jfb

— PAP Arch Foto (@paparchfoto) August 18, 2023

He has eight Academy Awards and 25 Oscar nominations to his credit.

"Personally, I plan to watch any one or more of Knife in the Water, Repulsion, Chinatown or The Pianist to mark Polanski’s birthday on Friday. But I may restrain myself from actually raising a glass of Champagne in his direction."https://t.co/H8y47rH6f9

— The Spectator World (@TheSpectator) August 18, 2023

(mk/gs)