Roman Polanski gets Zurich film festival award after two-year wait

Director was arrested on way to collect prize in 2009 when US attempted extradition on 1977 child sex charges
Roman Polanski
Film director Roman Polanski walks to the podium to receive the award for his lifetime work at the Zurich film festival in Zurich, Switzerland. Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

The film director Roman Polanski collected his lifetime achievement award from the Zurich film festival on Tuesday night, two years after he was arrested over child sex charges on his way to accept the prize.

"What can I say? Better late than never," he said, laughing as he took to the stage after sustained applause and a standing ovation from the film festival audience. "It's a very moving moment for me."

Polanski was unexpectedly detained on an American warrant when he landed at Zurich airport on his way to the film festival in September 2009.

He was jailed and then placed under house arrest at his luxury chalet for more than six months while Swiss authorities considered whether to extradite him to the US, where he is wanted over a conviction for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. He was released in July last year after Switzerland finally refused the extradition request.

"It was not only a blow to me, but also to my family and the festival itself," he said of his arrest in 2009. "I would in particular like to thank the prison staff who tried to make my stay as bearable as possible, including the head of the prison of Zurich."

There was loud laughter in the audience, but Polanski interjected: "This is not a joke." He said he was "too touched by the situation".

After being presented with the award in Zurich, Polanski was expected to present a documentary detailing his side of the story. The festival announced only a "surprise film" giving no details. The British actor Alice Eve told Associated Press the documentary was a series of interviews with Polanski.

The 78-year-old Oscar-winner, who is best known for his films Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby and The Pianist, is still wanted in the US for sex offences committed when he was 44. He was accused of drugging, plying with alcohol and raping a 13-year-old girl during a photoshoot in 1977 at the Hollywood home of the actor Jack Nicholson.

Originally charged with six crimes, including sodomy, child molestation and rape by use of drugs, he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse and fled to France in 1978 amid a legal dispute over his sentence.

Polanski's fugitive status means he limits his movements to countries where he cannot be extradited to the US, such as France. He holds French-Polish citizenship. He did not attend the recent Venice Film Festival premiere of his new film, Carnage, as Italy has a long history of judicial co-operation with America.

He was said to have used his time under Swiss house arrest at his luxurious Gstaad mountain chalet to work intensely on the film. The well-reviewed, claustrophobic black farce starring Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster and Christoph Waltz is set in Brooklyn, but was shot on a Paris sound-stage as Polanski risks arrest if he travels to the US.

The director's detention in Switzerland two years ago prompted an outcry from many leading figures in the film industry with directors including Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and Jean-Luc Godard expressing support along with some French politicians.

The Zurich festival organisers said they were especially proud to have him return to receive his award. "We have always been tremendous admirers of his work."

At the time of his arrest, the Swiss Association of Film Directors and Script Writers called the move "a slap in the face for the entire cultural community in Switzerland."

In his acceptance speech, Polanski said: "I love coming to Switzerland and I'm happy to be here."

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