J'ACCUSE

France, Italy

Synopsis

On 5 January 1895, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young promising officer, is degraded for spying for Germany and is sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island. Among the witnesses to his humiliation is Georges Picquart, who is promoted to run the military counter-intelligence unit that tracked him down. But when Picquart discovers that secrets are still being handed over to the Germans, he is drawn into a dangerous labyrinth of deceit and corruption that threatens not just his honour but his life.

Director's Statement

The film is about the Dreyfus Affair, a subject that has been on my mind for many years. In this vast scandal, probably the greatest of the late 19th century, judicial error, miscarriage of justice and anti-Semitism intertwine.
During the twelve years it lasted, the Dreyfus Affair tore France apart, causing a genuine upheaval all over the world. It still stands as a symbol of the iniquity that political authorities are capable of in the name of national interest.

Director's Biography

Born in Paris to Polish parents who returned to Poland just before the Second World War, Roman Polanski began his career as a child actor and, later was admitted to the Polish National Film School, in Lodz, where he directed his first short films, including TWO MEN AND A WARDROBE and MAMMALS, both winning prices at various film festivals.
His first feature film, KNIFE IN THE WATER (1962), won the Critic’s Award at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar as the Best Foreign Language Film. REPULSION (1965) his first film in English, won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, and, subsequently CUL-DE-SAC, won the Golden Bear.
ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) was his first film made in Hollywood. It was a huge critical and box-office success and earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay. In 1975, he won the Golden Globe for Best Director and 11 Oscar nominations for CHINATOWN.
In 1999, Roman Polanski received the EFA's European Achievement in World Cinema Award and in 2006, the EFA Lifetime Achievement Award. His 2010 THE GHOST WRITER won six EFAs: European Film, Director, Screenwriter, Actor, Production Designer and Composer.

Filmography:
2019 - AN OFFICER AND A SPY
2017 - BASED ON A TRUE STORY
2013 - VENUS IN FUR
2012 - A THERAPY
2011 - CARNAGE
2010 - THE GHOST WRITER
2007 - TO EACH HIS OWN CINEMA, seg: CINEMA EROTIQUE
2005 - OLIVER TWIST
2002 - THE PIANIST
1999 - THE NINTH GATE
1994 - DEATH AND THE MAIDEN
1992 - BITTER MOON
1988 - FRANTIC
1986 - PIRATES
1979 - TESS
1976 - THE TENANT
1974 - CHINATOWN
1972 - WHAT?
1971 - MACBETH
1968 - ROSEMARY'S BABY
1967 - VAMPIRE KILLERS
1966 - CUL-DE-SAC
1965 - REPULSION
1964 - THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL SWINDLERS, seg: LA RIVIÈRE DE DIAMANTS
1962 - KNIFE IN THE WATER
1962 - MAMMALS, short
1961 - THE FAT AND THE LEAN, short
1959 - WHEN ANGELS FALL, short
1959 - THE LAMP, short
1958 - TWO MEN AND A WARDROBE, short
1957 - MURDER, short
1957 - BREAK-UP THE DANCE, short
1957 - SMILE, short
1957 - BICYCLE, short
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Roman Polanski

Written by: Robert Harris, Roman Polanski

Produced by: Alain Goldman

Cinematography: Pawel Edelman

Editing: Hervé de Luze

Production Design: Jean Rabasse

Costume Design: Pascaline Chavanne

Make-Up & Hair: Agathe Dupuis, Vesna Peborde, Cédric Kerguillec

Original Score: Alexandre Desplat

Sound: Lucien Balibar, Aymeric Devoldère, Cyril Holtz, Niels Barletta

Visual Effects: Jérémie Leroux, Alain Carsoux

Cast: Jean Dujardin (Picquart), Louis Garrel (Alfred Dreyfus), Emmanuelle Seigner (Pauline Monnier), Grégory Gadebois (Henry)

Nominations and Awards

  • European Film 2019
  • European Director 2019
  • European Actor 2019
  • European Screenwriter 2019
  • Feature Film Selection 2019