Content warning: This article contains discussions of sexual assault.
Roman Polanski is an Academy Award-winning director who drugged and raped a thirteen-year-old girl named Samantha Geimer in 1977. Though his case with Geimer is the most infamous, Polanski has been accused of sexual assault on several accounts after fleeing from the United States to Europe in 1978 to avoid imminent conviction. Many of his films have subsequently not been distributed in the United States. Among his most acclaimed films are “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Chinatown” and “The Pianist,” — the latter of which won him the Oscar for best director in 2003. He was not present at the ceremony.
In 2019, the Venice Film Festival premiered his historical drama film “An Officer and a Spy” — with the French title “J’accuse,” which translates to “I accuse” — starring Jean Dujardin. The film chronicles the Dreyfus affair, a political scandal that began when a French Jewish Army officer was wrongfully convicted of sharing military secrets with the German embassy in Paris. Exacerbated by rampant antisemitism, he was sentenced to life in prison and exiled to French Guiana. Dreyfus was later released once the truth was revealed.
After winning the Grand Jury prize at the 2019 Venice Film Festival, the film was not released in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand. The film distinctly mirrors how Polanski views his own controversy. In press notes, he wrote, “I am familiar with many of the workings of the apparatus of persecution shown in the film, and that has clearly inspired me.” “An Officer and a Spy” received rave reviews from critics, many of whom praised Polanski’s direction.
Six years later, independent theaters around the United States debuted the film. In New York, the Angelika Film Center played showings from late August to mid-October 2025. The theater hosted multiple screenings followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with screenwriter Robert Harris, advertising showtimes in their newsletter and on their Instagram. Limited engagements screened at Film Forum and New Plaza Cinema.
The Angelika and Film Forum’s websites featured a statement on the film acknowledging the difficulty of “presentation of work by artists with controversial or problematic histories” but affirming its decision to present the film due to the relevance of its themes. The Film Forum Union responded with a statement emphasizing that showing this film perpetuates “the cultural amnesia that normalizes abuse” and devalues sexual assault survivors.
The entertainment industry is no stranger to art made by people who have been accused or convicted of sexual assault: Woody Allen, Bill Cosby and Bryan Singer to name a few. While the public largely understands these are not good people, it struggles to agree on how to digest the art they make. In the case of Polanski, we often hear things like, “He’s disgusting, but I loved ‘Rosemary’s Baby,’” as if his genre-defining work forgives his serious offenses.
As “An Officer and a Spy” continues to play in select theaters across the country, we face the grappling question of separating art from the artist. But this debate is doomed from the start due to its flawed premise. Art is inherently tied to the artist’s experiences and values; separating them is impossible. Only Polanski could have made “An Officer and a Spy” in the way he made it due to his specific experiences with public shame and his Jewish identity.
The very act of showing Polanski’s film to wider audiences in cultural hubs like New York City actively supplies him with the funds to continue his career. By monetarily supporting the work of a rapist, the Angelika, Film Forum and others allow Polanski to avoid the consequences of his severe transgressions. A simple statement does not suffice, as it sustains societal forgiveness of primarily male artists and silences survivors of these crimes.
If theaters like the Angelika and Film Forum are truly committed to “the pursuit of justice,” as the Angelika wrote in their statement, showing a film made by Polanski, who only supports that goal for personal benefit, does not progress this aim. There are many films that tackle similar themes of antisemitism and institutional corruption that could’ve been screened instead: “Schindler’s List,” “School Ties” and “All the President’s Men,” for example.
As the run of “An Officer and a Spy” in New York City concludes, we must wrestle with the repercussions of platforming this film on sexual abuse survivors throughout the film community. In the end, like the Dreyfus affair itself, Polanski’s position in cinema cements the fact that the past is never truly resolved.
Contact Ellie Miller at [email protected]