Cielo, Astra

Roman Polanski, born in 1933, is a globally recognized filmmaker and actor of Polish and French nationality. His career has been marked by numerous prestigious awards, including an Academy Award, multiple British Academy Film Awards, César Awards, and Golden Globe Awards, alongside prestigious festival honors like the Golden Bear and Palme d'Or. His cinematic output spans decades and continents, from his early Polish films like "Knife in the Water" to acclaimed international productions such as "Rosemary's Baby," "Chinatown," and "The Pianist."

Polanski's life story is profoundly shaped by his experiences during World War II. Born in Paris, his family returned to Kraków, Poland, where they were forced into the Kraków Ghetto following the Nazi invasion. He survived the Holocaust by adopting a false identity and living in hiding, witnessing immense trauma and loss, including the deaths of his parents and the murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson Family. He has faced significant legal challenges, including a conviction for unlawful sex with a minor in the U.S. in 1977, after which he fled the country and remains a fugitive.

His early fascination with cinema began in childhood, intensified by wartime newsreels and post-war film viewing. Polanski's directorial style is often noted for its atmospheric tension and exploration of dark psychological themes, potentially influenced by his formative experiences with fear and violence.

Roman Polanski was born in Paris in 1933, but his family relocated to Kraków, Poland, in 1937. The onset of World War II and the Nazi invasion of Poland led to the family's internment in the Kraków Ghetto. Polanski endured the Holocaust by assuming a false identity and hiding, losing both parents during the war. He spent his youth in foster care and survived by concealing his Jewish heritage, a period marked by profound fear and the witnessing of violence. He later recounted experiences such as being forced to participate in target practice games by German soldiers. After the war, he was reunited with his father and lived in relatively primitive village conditions before reintegrating into society.

Polanski's directorial career began in Poland with the short film "Rower" (1955), followed by his first feature, "Knife in the Water" (1962), which earned an Academy Award nomination. He then moved to the UK and later the US, directing landmark films such as "Repulsion" (1965), "Cul-de-sac" (1966), "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), "Macbeth" (1971), and "Chinatown" (1974). His critically acclaimed works include "The Pianist" (2002), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director, and "Tess" (1979). Polanski has directed 23 feature films and also acted in various productions.

In 1977, Roman Polanski was arrested in the United States for an illegal sexual act with a minor. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was awaiting sentencing when he fled the country in 1978, subsequently becoming a fugitive from the U.S. justice system. He has continued his filmmaking career in Europe. The tragic murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, along with four friends by the Manson Family in 1969, remains a significant event in his life. Several other women have also made allegations of abuse against him.

“Even as a child, I always loved cinema and was thrilled when my parents would take me before the war. Then we were put into the ghetto in Krakòw and there was no cinema, but the Germans often showed newsreels to the people outside the ghetto, on a screen in the market place. And there was one particular corner where you could see the screen through the barbed wire. I remember watching with fascination, although all they were showing was the German army and German tanks, with occasional anti-Jewish slogans inserted on cards.”

“Most of this went on the movies, but movie seats were dirt cheap, so a little went a long way. I lapped up every kind of film.”

“Movies were becoming an absolute obsession with me. I was enthralled by everything connected with the cinema—not just the movies themselves but the aura that surrounded them. I loved the luminous rectangle of the screen, the sight of the beam slicing through the darkness from the projection booth, the miraculous synchronization of sound and vision, even the dusty smell of the tip-up seats. More than anything else though, I was fascinated by the actual mechanics of the process.”

“I still consider it as one of the best movies I've ever seen and a film which made me want to pursue this career more than anything else ... I always dreamt of doing things of this sort or that style. To a certain extent I must say that I somehow perpetuate the ideas of that movie in what I do.”

“They were really simple Catholic peasants. This Polish village was like the English village in Tess. Very primitive. No electricity. The kids with whom I lived didn't know about electricity ... they wouldn't believe me when I told them it was enough to turn on a switch!”