Roman Polanski is a well-known French Polish director. After beginning his career in France and Poland, Polanski made a number of major films in Great Britain and the United States. Among the most popular of these are the 1968 psychological horror film Rosemary’s Baby and the 1974 neo-noir flick Chinatown—both of which are considered classics. He also won the Academy Award for best director in 2003 for The Pianist (2002).
Since 1977 Polanski’s career has been overshadowed by charges that he raped a minor and other subsequent accusations of sexual assault. Facing the prospect of a potential decades-long prison sentence, he fled to France and remains a fugitive from U.S. justice.