IT must be difficult being faced with a supposedly genius filmmaker, especially when he’s got a penchant for having sex with minors.

This was the trouble faced by Ewan McGregor and Kate Winslet, who have both starred in films of Roman Polanski lately, and gushed about how clever he is in print, neatly sidestepping any awkward questions about ALL THAT.

However, oddly, the French-Polish filmmaker is now the one chattering away about it all and has, at long last, managed to mention the thing everyone’s been muttering about for aaaaaaaaaaages.

In a documentary that aired at the Zurich Film Festival this week, he spoke about Samantha Geimer, the 13-year-old he was charged with sexually assaulting in Los Angeles. describing her as “a double victim”.

He said:

“my victim, and a victim of the press”.

Mostly Roman Polanski’s victim though, you’ll agree. Of course, Polanski fled to France hours before sentencing in the case, which everyone really enjoyed. In fact, Hollywood cares so little that this man is a child-molester that he was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the film festival. That’ll sit nicely with his Academy Awards that he won pretty recently.

Ain’t the world a wonderful, wonderful place?

The full case files.

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PA PHOTOS/DPA - UK USE ONLY: Film director Roman Polanski pictured during a press conference in Munich. Polanski will celebrate his 70th birthday on 18 August 2003. * Born in Paris, France, in 1933 the son of Polish immigrants, he grew up in Poland and studied at the film school in Lodz. After first successful films in Poland, France and England ('Repulsion', 1965, 'The Fearless Vampire Killers', 1967), Polanski in 1968 went to Hollywood where he gained reputation with the psychological thriller 'Rosemary's Baby'. However, after the brutal murder of his wife Sharon Tate by the infamous Manson gang in 1969, the director decided to return to Europe. In 1974 he again appeared in the USA with 'Chinatown' that seemed to be the beginning of the promising Hollywood career. After his conviction for the statutory rape of a 13-year old girl, Polanski fled from America to avoid prison. Back in Europe, he made 'Frantic' (1988), starrring Harrison Ford, and 'Bitter Moon' (1992). Last year, Polanski won the Golden Palm Award and the Academy Award for his film 'The Pianist' (2002). He has been married to French actress Emanuelle Seigner since 1989 and they have two children.