The head of the Venice Film Festival, which begins Wednesday, informed AFP it was “absolutely incomprehensible” why U.S. opinion had turned so strongly in opposition to director Woody Allen.
The competition has been criticized for its inclusion of a number of administrators with previous sexual assault allegations on this 12 months’s line-up, together with Allen, Roman Polanski and Luc Besson.
But its boss, Alberto Barbera, stated the controversy round Allen, who is ready to current his fiftieth movie “Coup de Chance” on the competition on Monday, was significantly baffling to him.
“He has been completely absolved. Twenty-five years have passed and, for me, the hostility toward him, especially in the United States, is absolutely incomprehensible,” Barbera informed AFP on Tuesday.
Allen, 87, was investigated for an alleged assault on his adopted daughter within the early Nineties however no expenses have been introduced by police.
He accuses his ex-partner Mia Farrow, who faces her personal allegations of mistreating her youngsters, of orchestrating the accusations.
In the #MeToo period, many have refused to simply accept the preliminary investigation findings and Allen has been successfully blackballed by Hollywood.
Barbera added that the case of Polanski, who stays a fugitive from the United States over a conviction for raping a minor within the Seventies, was “more complex”.
“Not only has he been found guilty, but he has recognized his guilt and asked for forgiveness. The victim has forgiven him and asked for forgiveness on this affair,” he stated.
Polanski’s new movie “The Palace” is screening on the competition, although the 90-year-old isn’t anticipated to attend.
“We must make a distinction between the man and the artist,” Barbera stated. “The history of art is full of artists who were criminals, and we nonetheless continue to admire their work.”
France’s Besson, who presents “Dogman” in competitors this week, had rape allegations in opposition to him dropped in June.
© 2023 AFP