Polanski, a fugitive from US justice, meets with strong criticism at news that his film about the Dreyfus affair is to go ahead

Although it was first announced in 2012, outrage is rapidly spreading over a new project by director Roman Polanski after it was confirmed filming is to start soon.

Entitled J’Accuse, the film is based on the notorious Dreyfus affair, a shocking miscarriage of justice case that convulsed France at the end of the 19th century. It takes its title from the celebrated open letter written by novelist Emile Zola and published in 1898, accusing the government of ineptitude and antisemitism after the jailing of artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus for espionage. Dreyfus was ultimately exonerated of any wrongdoing after spending four years in the Devil’s Island penal colony. Novelist Robert Harris has written the script; Louis Garrel is to play Dreyfus while Jean Dujardin, best actor Oscar winner for The Artist, is to play Colonel Picquart, the intelligence chief who led the attempt to find the real culprit.

However, with Polanski currently a fugitive from US justice, the film’s subject has lent itself to a stream of criticism on social media. Polanski was charged with rape and child sex abuse in 1977, but pleaded guilty to statutory rape (unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor) as part of a plea bargaining deal. However, he left the US for France in 1978, shortly before a sentencing hearing; all the original charges remain pending and a US arrest warrant is still open. However, he has not been extradited – he is a French citizen and attempts by US authorities, such as an arrest in Switzerland in 2009, have been unsuccessful.

As a result, Polanski has become one of the higher profile film-makers whose status has been adversely affected by the #MeToo campaign, culminating in his expulsion in 2018 (along with Bill Cosby) from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Polanski called #MeToo “mass hysteria” in an interview conducted before his expulsion.