Director Polanski to get lifetime award

WARSAW, Poland, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- The European Film Academy will honor film director Roman Polanski with a lifetime achievement award at a ceremony in Poland.

Polanski, 73, will receive his award for his "impressive contribution to the world of film" in December at the European Film Awards in Warsaw, BBC reported.

The famed director made "Rosemary's Baby," "Chinatown" and "The Pianist," which won an Oscar.

"The Pianist" is the story of a Jewish musician's escape from the Nazis. Though Polanski was born in Paris, he lived in Poland as a child, surviving atrocities in the Krakow ghetto during World War II. His parents were sent to concentration camps, however, and his mother was killed in a gas chamber, BBC reported.

Polanski moved to Hollywood to direct films, but there was charged with having had underage sex with a 13-year-old girl. Rather than face trial, he fled to Europe.

Thus, he was unable to accept the 2002 Oscar for best director in Hollywood without risking arrest.

"The Pianist" also won the Palme D'Or and British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards for best film and best director.