Roman Polanski Facing Expulsion Vote By French Filmmaker Society

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The board of the ARP, France’s society of directors, writers and producers, has voted in favor of new rules that will see any of its members who are investigated by police for crimes relating to sexual violence suspended and, if prosecuted, expelled.

The organization first proposed the legislation last week in a statement that followed the bumpy release in France of An Officer And A Spy, the latest feature from director Roman Polanski, who was recently accused of rape by a French photographer. He denies the allegation.

While that initial correspondence from ARP did not reference Polanski by name, the latest statement, published on its website, does directly name-check the director and notes his long-standing charge in the U.S. of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

The policy will now be put to ARP members, which number some 200 filmmakers in the country, before potentially being ratified at the organization’s next general assembly.

If the suspended member is cleared of the crime they have been accused of, their membership would be reinstated, the statement adds.

Last week, a Paris screening of An Officer And A Spy was shut down by a group of protestors. Despite the controversy, the film opened in first place at the French box office this weekend.