Roman Polanski season at BFI

I'm sure his victim will take huge comfort from the fact that he (was never caught) doing the same thing to anyone else.

Nor is the comparison with Savile particualrly apt. Savile it appears was a massive repeat offender. Polanski's act appears to be a one-off. He should've faced his punishment and served the time for it obviously. Savile also did not produce any art.

I'm not sure why the art of someone who has done bad things should not still be celebrated ifit is good art. We can seperate the art and the artist no?

Does anyone know how to ask slebs to retweet? I am not really twitter capable.

I'm in.
I just watched that clip on youtube, with the standing ovation. I would have loved for Harrison Ford to have had the balls to say "Roman Polanski can't be here to accept his sycophantic award in person as he's hiding out in Europe to avoid going to jail for raping a child. So here's someone else to accept it for the raping bastard."

hmmm wonder why Comments are disabled for this video.

OK, have started thread in Chat here to try and drum up a bit more support.

DH could do something in Photoshop but I am not on Twitter

Actually, you could just do that on Twitter without the picture.

Sounds like a good idea. Come on, who's got the skills?

A 'Jimmy Saville Season' mock up in electronic form would wing its way round Facebook and Twitter like wildfire. That would be a very quick and effective way to get the word spread widely. Wish I could offer, but my graphic skillz are sadly lacking.

Are there any people on here who have the skills to mock something like that up? It doesn't have to be well done (quite the opposite) just photoshopped, and I imagine we could avoid legal questions by putting something like a smallish "What next a" at the top before the big splash of "JIMMY SAVILLE SEASON at the BFI". I would be happy to find places to put them up.

How are people contacting the BFI? I'm really upset about this, I actually was about to become a member because it's a great place and they have an amazing programme and bar and I'd like to tell them exactly why I won't be bothering now.

note the shot of Jack Nicholson whom I believe was in the other room with Angelica Houston while it happened.

nauseating indeed

OMG that is so nauseating, imagine being a rape survivor in that crowd cheering on a rapist. Some of the women there, would have been (maybe some of the men). Imagine the level of cognitive dissonance and denial they have to employ, to be around rape-celebrating shit like that.

I wish I could hack the BFI website and insert the words "after admitting raping a child" at the end of this sentence: "Roman Polanski undertook Tess, in memory of his murdered wife Sharon Tate, when seeking refuge in Paris after fleeing the USA".

Is it possible to copy pages from the BFI website and adjust the sentence thus, and then re-publish the page as a separate website that would come up in a Google search?

Oh, hello BFI publicity team - welcome to MN

(Publicity depts always know what's being said on the 'net)

The films are good and should be shown, as part of regular programming, when there is a demand.

But bringing them together in a RP season celebrates the man himself, not the films as stand alone objects of art.

I won't be going and I think it arrogant of the BFI to decide to focus on the man and celebrate him as an individual. I think mock-up BFI flyers announcing a JS season by the BFI would be a suitable response.

The films should be shown, not surpressed, but meanwhile the man should be brought to justice.

I'm in if I can help.
I know it may not be relevant but look at what is happening in India. The world is changing and these institutions ( film , BBC ) need to change too. Rape is never acceptable! Talented and charming men are rapists too that doesn't exonerate them somehow from their henious crime

I don't do twitter but I've left a couple of messages on their fb. Would be well up for picketing some of the season too. (the screening of 'Repulsion' might be an appropriate one, if only for its name...)

This is appalling.
The film Industry is a misogynistic old boys club. I remember the standing ovation for him led by Martin Scorsese at the oscars one year. A fucking standing ovation for someone who drugged and raped a child.
Can we put something out on twitter about this?

Actually, just do a google of Geoff Andrew and Roman Polanski. The man couldn't have his head any further up Polanski's arse if he tried.

This has made me really fucking angry. The writer of that evasive piece of crap (Geoff Andrew) has form for this. This came from a similarly minimising Graun article from 2005:

"I like the man," says Geoff Andrew, the National Film Theatre's programmer, who has met and interviewed Polanski many times. "He always struck me as a very genuine sort of guy, a very courteous and a very old-fashioned person."

Geoff Andrew is now head of the BFI film programme. So it's all pals together, it seems. Who gives a damn about the child Polanski raped?

"Roman Polanski undertook Tess, in memory of his murdered wife Sharon Tate, when seeking refuge in Paris after fleeing the USA

That sentence makes it sound like he was some abused prisoner of war in the US doesn't it? Not just a rapist who didn't want to go to jail