Roman Polanski may have <a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/roman-polanski-sparks-outrage-as-his-film-gets-nominated-in-french-oscars-277540">received multiple nominations at the French Oscars</a>- César awards- but his inclusion hasn't gone down well with the board that's behind this annual awards- considered the most prestigious in France.&nbsp; 
 
The entire board has now resigned, two weeks before the gala ceremony due to the growing controversy around Polanski's film 'An Officer and A Spy' that has received 12 nominations this year.&nbsp; 
 
Earlier in an open letter that was published on Wednesday, more than 400 actors, producers, directors and film personalities had demanded the “profound reform” of the César academy, denouncing its dysfunction and the opaqueness of its processes. 
 
On Thursday the academy said, "To honour those men and women who made cinema happen in 2019, to find calm and ensure that the festival of the film remains just that, a festival, the board ... has unanimously decided to resign. This collective decision will allow the complete renewal of the board.” 
 
The academy been under intense criticism ever since Polanski’s film about Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish French army officer accused of spying for Germany and unjustly convicted of treason in the 1890s, garnered 12 nominations for the awards. The ceremony is scheduled to take place February 28.&nbsp; 
 
Polanski fled America in 1978 after admitting to being accussed of raping a 13-year-old girl. Since then he has been a fugitive of &nbsp;the US justice system.&nbsp; 
 
The inclusion of his film – titled 'J’accuse' in France – on the Césars’ shortlist was condemned by France’s equality minister, women’s groups and film critics alike. 
 
Polanski was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2018 and launched his new film in France in 2019 just days after a French photographer, Valentine Monnier, accused him of raping her in a Swiss ski resort when she was a teenager which the filmmaker denied.&nbsp; 
 
His film, as a result, faced sever backlash in France and some of the screenings were also cancelled.&nbsp;

Roman Polanski may have received multiple nominations at the French Oscars- César awards- but his inclusion hasn't gone down well with the board that's behind this annual awards- considered the most prestigious in France.

Roman Polanski may have received multiple nominations at the French Oscars- César awards- but his inclusion hasn't gone down well with the board that's behind this annual awards- considered the most prestigious in France. The entire board has now resigned, two weeks before the gala ceremony due to the growing controversy around Polanski's film 'An Officer and A Spy' that has received 12 nominations this year. Earlier in an open letter that was published on Wednesday, more than 400 actors, producers, directors and film personalities had demanded the “profound reform” of the César academy, denouncing its dysfunction and the opaqueness of its processes. On Thursday the academy said, "To honour those men and women who made cinema happen in 2019, to find calm and ensure that the festival of the film remains just that, a festival, the board ... has unanimously decided to resign. This collective decision will allow the complete renewal of the board.” The academy been under intense criticism ever since Polanski’s film about Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish French army officer accused of spying for Germany and unjustly convicted of treason in the 1890s, garnered 12 nominations for the awards. The ceremony is scheduled to take place February 28. Polanski fled America in 1978 after admitting to being accussed of raping a 13-year-old girl. Since then he has been a fugitive of the US justice system. The inclusion of his film – titled 'J’accuse' in France – on the Césars’ shortlist was condemned by France’s equality minister, women’s groups and film critics alike. Polanski was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2018 and launched his new film in France in 2019 just days after a French photographer, Valentine Monnier, accused him of raping her in a Swiss ski resort when she was a teenager which the filmmaker denied. His film, as a result, faced sever backlash in France and some of the screenings were also cancelled.

Governing body of French Oscars resigns amid controversy around Roman Polanski's film's nomination

French actor Valentine Monnier has accused Oscar-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski of sexual assault. The actor has claimed that the 86-year-old director had violently raped her about three decades ago in 1975 when she was just 18. 
 
"In 1975, I was raped by Roman Polanski. I had no connection to him, personal or professional, and barely knew him. This didn't&nbsp;happen in the fracas of a party there were no drugs, no alcohol. This was an extreme act of violence after we went skiing at his chalet in Gstaad," the news agency&nbsp;quoted her as saying in a statement given to a French publication - Le Parisien. 
 
While detailing the attack, Monnier added, "He hit me, ripped off my clothes until I surrendered and made me submit to a number of unpleasant acts. I had just turned 18 years old ". However, the charges have been denied by the director's attorneys in a statement given to Le Parisien. 
 
"Roman Polanski strongly denies all accusation of rape. On a personal note, I can't help but add that the alleged action took place 40 years ago. That they were never, throughout all these long years, brought to the attention of a judiciary authority or to Mr. Polanski. Under these conditions, I strongly protest the release, on the eve of the film's release, of these accusations," the attorneys said. 
 
Monnier in her statement has further questioned the French title and topic of Polanski's latest feature 'J'Accuse'&nbsp;An Officer and a Spy is the English title, which pictures the wrongful imprisonment of French Army officers Alfred Dreyfus, accused in 1894 of being a German spy. 
 
In the statement, the French actor has argued that Polanski has tried to "whitewash" his own history by the film. " 'Separate the art and artist',&nbsp;we've heard in the last few years, and yet Polanski himself transposes the history that he has tried to overcome over the course of many years repeatedly into the film, pushing his own history closer to that of Dreyfus, to the point where he poses as a victim of the same fury of mendacious trials and media," she wrote. 
 
She added that she remained tight-lipped until now for she felt cautious and young and was filled with a sense of powerlessness. This isn't the first for Polanski and the director had pleaded guilty of raping a minor in 1977. However, he left the USA the following year to escape the sentence.

French actor Valentine Monnier has accused Oscar-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski of sexual assault. The actor has claimed that the 86-year-old director had violently raped her about three decades ago in 1975 when she was just 18.

French actor Valentine Monnier has accused Oscar-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski of sexual assault. The actor has claimed that the 86-year-old director had violently raped her about three decades ago in 1975 when she was just 18. "In 1975, I was raped by Roman Polanski. I had no connection to him, personal or professional, and barely knew him. This didn't happen in the fracas of a party there were no drugs, no alcohol. This was an extreme act of violence after we went skiing at his chalet in Gstaad," the news agency quoted her as saying in a statement given to a French publication - Le Parisien. While detailing the attack, Monnier added, "He hit me, ripped off my clothes until I surrendered and made me submit to a number of unpleasant acts. I had just turned 18 years old ". However, the charges have been denied by the director's attorneys in a statement given to Le Parisien. "Roman Polanski strongly denies all accusation of rape. On a personal note, I can't help but add that the alleged action took place 40 years ago. That they were never, throughout all these long years, brought to the attention of a judiciary authority or to Mr. Polanski. Under these conditions, I strongly protest the release, on the eve of the film's release, of these accusations," the attorneys said. Monnier in her statement has further questioned the French title and topic of Polanski's latest feature 'J'Accuse' An Officer and a Spy is the English title, which pictures the wrongful imprisonment of French Army officers Alfred Dreyfus, accused in 1894 of being a German spy. In the statement, the French actor has argued that Polanski has tried to "whitewash" his own history by the film. " 'Separate the art and artist', we've heard in the last few years, and yet Polanski himself transposes the history that he has tried to overcome over the course of many years repeatedly into the film, pushing his own history closer to that of Dreyfus, to the point where he poses as a victim of the same fury of mendacious trials and media," she wrote. She added that she remained tight-lipped until now for she felt cautious and young and was filled with a sense of powerlessness. This isn't the first for Polanski and the director had pleaded guilty of raping a minor in 1977. However, he left the USA the following year to escape the sentence.

French actor accuses Oscar-winner Roman Polanski of sexual assault

The Dreyfus affair, subject of the new Roman Polanski film which is premiering at the Venice Film Festival, triggered a national crisis over anti-Semitism in France in the late 19th century.

Here is an account of the scandal, which had wide international repercussions.

- Accused -

Alfred Dreyfus was a 36-year-old Jewish French army captain, from the Alsace region of eastern France which was at the time occupied by Germany.

He was accused in October 1894 of passing secret information on new artillery equipment to the German military attache.

The accusation was based on a comparison of handwriting on a document found in the German's waste paper basket in Paris.

- On trial -

Dreyfus was put on trial, against the background of a virulent anti-Semitic press campaign.

His family tried in vain to defend him and he protested his innocence.

Despite the lack of evidence, he was convicted of treason on December 22, 1894, and sentenced to life imprisonment at the infamous Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana and publicly stripped of his rank.

The scandal rocked the assumption that Jews had become an integral part of French life -- revealing the depths of anti-Jewish sentiment in the country.

- Secret investigation -

Lieutenant Colonel Georges Picquart, head of the intelligence services, reinvestigated the case in secret.

In 1896 he discovered that the handwriting on the incriminating message was that of another officer, Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy.

When he presented the evidence to the general staff of the French army they refused to admit there had been a mistake.

Esterhazy was court-martialled and acquitted after a farce of a trial in 1898, moving to England.

Picquart was driven out of the army and jailed for a year. Rehabilitated, he was later made war minister from 1906-1909.

- 'J'accuse' -

On January 13, 1898, the famous French novelist Emile Zola published his famous "J'accuse" open letter to the president of the day.

He named officials who had framed Dreyfus and lambasted the French government for its anti-Semitism.

Such was the official backlash that the author of 'Germinal'&nbsp;had to flee into exile in England for about 10 months after being convicted of libel.

France was divided between liberal and left-wing supporters of Dreyfus and opponents on the Catholic right -- many of whom made no secret of their anti-Semitism. There were frequent riots.

- Exonerated -

In June 1899, Dreyfus was brought back to France for a second trial. He was initially found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison, before being officially pardoned -- though not cleared of the charges.

On July 12, 1906, after many twists, the high court of appeal overturned the original verdict, exonerating Dreyfus.

He was reinstated with the rank of major. He served during World War I and died in 1935, aged 76, to general indifference.

- Dreyfus and Herzl -

The young Hungarian Jewish journalist Theodor Herzl, a Paris correspondent for an Austrian newspaper, closely followed the Dreyfus affair, and was disgusted by the anti-Semitism it revealed.

The man who became regarded as the "Father of Zionism", later said that the Dreyfus affair had motivated his belief that Jews should move out of Europe and set up their own state instead.

The Dreyfus affair, subject of the new Roman Polanski film which is premiering at the Venice Film Festival, triggered a national crisis over anti-Semitism in France in the late 19th century.

The Dreyfus affair, subject of the new Roman Polanski film which is premiering at the Venice Film Festival, triggered a national crisis over anti-Semitism in France in the late 19th century. Here is an account of the scandal, which had wide international repercussions. - Accused - Alfred Dreyfus was a 36-year-old Jewish French army captain, from the Alsace region of eastern France which was at the time occupied by Germany. He was accused in October 1894 of passing secret information on new artillery equipment to the German military attache. The accusation was based on a comparison of handwriting on a document found in the German's waste paper basket in Paris. - On trial - Dreyfus was put on trial, against the background of a virulent anti-Semitic press campaign. His family tried in vain to defend him and he protested his innocence. Despite the lack of evidence, he was convicted of treason on December 22, 1894, and sentenced to life imprisonment at the infamous Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana and publicly stripped of his rank. The scandal rocked the assumption that Jews had become an integral part of French life -- revealing the depths of anti-Jewish sentiment in the country. - Secret investigation - Lieutenant Colonel Georges Picquart, head of the intelligence services, reinvestigated the case in secret. In 1896 he discovered that the handwriting on the incriminating message was that of another officer, Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy. When he presented the evidence to the general staff of the French army they refused to admit there had been a mistake. Esterhazy was court-martialled and acquitted after a farce of a trial in 1898, moving to England. Picquart was driven out of the army and jailed for a year. Rehabilitated, he was later made war minister from 1906-1909. - 'J'accuse' - On January 13, 1898, the famous French novelist Emile Zola published his famous "J'accuse" open letter to the president of the day. He named officials who had framed Dreyfus and lambasted the French government for its anti-Semitism. Such was the official backlash that the author of 'Germinal' had to flee into exile in England for about 10 months after being convicted of libel. France was divided between liberal and left-wing supporters of Dreyfus and opponents on the Catholic right -- many of whom made no secret of their anti-Semitism. There were frequent riots. - Exonerated - In June 1899, Dreyfus was brought back to France for a second trial. He was initially found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison, before being officially pardoned -- though not cleared of the charges. On July 12, 1906, after many twists, the high court of appeal overturned the original verdict, exonerating Dreyfus. He was reinstated with the rank of major. He served during World War I and died in 1935, aged 76, to general indifference. - Dreyfus and Herzl - The young Hungarian Jewish journalist Theodor Herzl, a Paris correspondent for an Austrian newspaper, closely followed the Dreyfus affair, and was disgusted by the anti-Semitism it revealed. The man who became regarded as the "Father of Zionism", later said that the Dreyfus affair had motivated his belief that Jews should move out of Europe and set up their own state instead.

The Dreyfus affair: The story behind Roman Polanski's film