Official Selection, Sundance (Winner - Best Editing)
Official Selection, Cannes

"Polanski survived the Holocaust and the murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, in 1969 by followers of Charles Manson. It was the American legal system that almost did him in." --Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

Reopening a case that has inspired curiosity, controversy, and confusion for over three decades, ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED is an extensive exploration of the circumstances that led up to - and the circus that followed - Polanski's conviction for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. Zenovich had unprecedented access to several of the key players in the case, including the lawyers representing the case, the media covering it, and the unusually clear-eyed and candid victim. Unearthing a trove of telling footage from the past, and combining it with insightful interviews from today, she brings comprehension and clarity to events long clouded by myth and misconception. A thrilling examination of a case that became the prototype for innumerable Hollywood courtroom scandals to follow, the film becomes a brilliant discourse on the attraction/ repulsion that defines celebrity culture in contemporary America.

DIR/SCR/PROD Marina Zenovich; SCR Joe Bini, Peter G. Morgan; PROD Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Lila Yocoub. US/UK, color, 2008, 99 min. NOT RATED

Digital Presentation

AFI Member passes will be accepted at all screenings of WANTED AND DESIRED.