Director Roman Polanski reluctantly has decided to cancel his visit to the Locarno Film Festival this weekend because of what he describes in a letter to organisers as "outside pressures."
Polanski, 80, was scheduled to give a masterclass and also to present his film Venus In Fur, starring his wife Emmanuelle Seigner.
His letter to the Festival organisers said: "I am sorry to inform you that having considered the extent to which my planned appearance at the Locarno Festival provokes tensions and controversies among those opposed to my visit, even as I respect their opinions, it is with a heavy heart that I must cancel my visit. I am deeply saddened to disappoint you."
The choice of 80-year-old Polanski for a Festival honour was the subject of debate among local politicians, some of whom were opposed to the visit.
Since he was convicted of sex offences (statutory rape) in the United States in 1977 the Oscar winning director of The Pianist has been a fugitive from the US justice system, which limits the extent of his travels. After a visit to the Zurich Film Festival in 2009 Polanski who is based in Paris, was placed under house arrest in Switzerland while there was a court battle over his extradition. In the end the Swiss authorities ruled against extraditing him to the US to face trial.
The Festival organisers, who will welcome and honour French actress Juliette Binoche over the weekend, have described the situation as "a setback." A spokesperson added: "The public will thereby be deprived of an important opportunity for cultural enrichment. The Festival continues to affirm its commitment to the principle of free and unfettered artistic expression despite the unacceptable interference of some in the artistic liberty of the festival.”
Earlier Switzerland's Democratic Party released a strong statement urging its members not to participate in any award ceremony recognising Polanski. It said this was not to dispute any of his artistic merits, but that an institution largely supported by the public should not honour any man convicted of such a crime.
