Over 100 In Film Community Sign Polanski Petition

AFP is reporting that a grand assembly of filmmakers, actors and producers from around the world have signed a petition urging the release of director Roman Polanski, who was arrested Sunday in Switzerland on a warrant for a 1977 underage sex case in the United States. Woody Allen, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Martin Scorcese, David Lynch, Wong Kar Wai, Harmony Korine, Stephen Frears, Alexander Payne, Michael Mann, Wim Wenders, Tilda Swinton, Julian Schnabel, and Pedro Almodovar are among the 100 and counting film industry figures who have signed the petition, coordinated from France by the SACD, an organization which represents performance and visual artists.

“We demand the immediate release of Roman Polanski,” urges the petition. “Film-makers in France, in Europe, in the United States and around the world are dismayed by this decision… It seems inadmissible to them that an international cultural event, paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary film-makers, is used by police to apprehend him.”

The following is the SACD petition, followed by a list of names of people who had signed it as of tonight. For a more extensive detailing of Polanski’s arrest and potential extradition to the United States, check out indieWIRE‘s coverage from earlier today.

Petition for Roman Polanski

We have learned the astonishing news of Roman Polanski’s arrest by the Swiss police on September 26th, upon arrival in Zurich (Switzerland) while on his way to a film festival where he was due to receive an award for his career in filmmaking.

His arrest follows an American arrest warrant dating from 1978 against the filmmaker, in a case of morals.

Filmmakers in France, in Europe, in the United States and around the world are dismayed by this decision. It seems inadmissible to them that an international cultural event, paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, is used by the police to apprehend him.

By their extraterritorial nature, film festivals the world over have always permitted works to be shown and for filmmakers to present them freely and safely, even when certain States opposed this.

The arrest of Roman Polanski in a neutral country, where he assumed he could travel without hindrance, undermines this tradition: it opens the way for actions of which no one can know the effects.

Roman Polanski is a French citizen, a renown and international artist now facing extradition. This extradition, if it takes place, will be heavy in consequences and will take away his freedom.

Filmmakers, actors, producers and technicians — everyone involved in international filmmaking — want him to know that he has their support and friendship.

On September 16th, 2009, Mr. Charles Rivkin, the US Ambassador to France, received French artists and intellectuals at the embassy. He presented to them the new Minister Counselor for Public Affairs at the embassy, Ms Judith Baroody. In perfect French she lauded the Franco-American friendship and recommended the development of cultural relations between our two countries.

If only in the name of this friendship between our two countries, we demand the immediate release of Roman Polanski.

-For a list of signatories, continue to the next page.-

Polanski petition signatories, as of September 29th:

Fatih Akin

Stephane Allagnon

Woody Allen

Pedro Almodovar

Wes Anderson

Jean-Jacques Annaud

Alexandre Arcady

Fanny Ardant

Asia Argento

Darren Aronofsky

Olivier Assayas

Alexander Astruc

Gabriel Auer

Luc Barnier

Christophe Barratier

Xavier Beauvois

Liria Begeja

Gilles Behat

Jean-Jacques Beineix

Marco Bellochio

Monica Bellucci

Djamel Bennecib

Giuseppe Bertolucci

Patrick Bouchitey

Paul Boujenah

Jacques Bral

Patrick Braoudé

Andre Buytaers

Christian Carion

Henning Carlsen

Jean-Michel Carre

Patrice Chereau

Elie Chouraqui

Souleymane Cisse

Alain Corneau

Jerome Cornuau

Miguel Courtois

Dominique Crevecoeur

Alfonso Cuaron

Luc et Jean-Pierre Dardenne

Jonathan Demme

Alexandre Desplat

Rosalinde et Michel Deville

Georges Dybman

Jacques Fansten

Joël Farges

Gianluca Farinelli

Jacques Fansten

Etienne Faure

Michel Ferry

Scott Foundas

Stephen Frears

Thierry Fremaux

Sam Gabarski

René Gainville

Tony Gatlif

Costa Gavras

Jean-Marc Ghanassia

Terry Gilliam

Christian Gion

Marc Guidoni

Buck Henry

David Heyman

Laurent Heynemann

Robert Hossein

Jean-Loup Hubert

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Gilles Jacob

Just Jaeckin

Alain Jessua

Pierre Jolivet

Kent Jones

Roger Kahane,

Nelly Kaplan

Wong Kar Waï

Ladislas Kijno

Harmony Korine

Jan Kounen

Diane Kurys

Emir Kusturica

John Landis

Claude Lanzmann

André Larquié

Vinciane Lecocq

Patrice Leconte

Claude Lelouch

Gérard Lenne

David Lynch

Michael Mann

François Margolin

Jean-Pierre Marois

Tonie Marshall

Mario Martone

Nicolas Mauvernay

Radu Mihaileanu

Claude Miller

Mario Monicelli

Jeanne Moreau

Sandra Nicolier

Michel Ocelot

Alexander Payne

Richard Pena

Michele Placido

Philippe Radault

Jean-Paul Rappeneau

Raphael Rebibo

Yasmina Reza

Jacques Richard

Laurence Roulet

Walter Salles

Jean-Paul Salomé

Marc Sandberg

Jerry Schatzberg

Julian Schnabel

Barbet Schroeder

Ettore Scola

Martin Scorcese

Charlotte Silvera

Abderrahmane Sissako

Paolo Sorrentino

Guillaume Stirn

Tilda Swinton

Jean-Charles Tacchella

Radovan Tadic

Danis Tanovic

Bertrand Tavernier

Cécile Telerman

Alain Terzian

Pascal Thomas

Giuseppe Tornatore

Serge Toubiana

Nadine Trintignant

Tom Tykwer

Alexandre Tylski

Betrand Van Effenterre

Wim Wenders

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