©Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
French filmmaker Marina Ziolkowski will write and direct The Girl, a film that will examine the circumstances surrounding the 1977 sexual assault pf 13-year-old Samantha Geimer by director Roman Polanski. Based on Geimer’s memoir The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski, the book will describe the crime from the victim’s perspective.
The Girl will star 13-year-old American-Ukrainian actor Carolyn Kachen as Samantha Geimer, Dree Hemingway as her mother, and Gore Abrams as her stepfather. The producers say that Kachen was chosen for the part after “a striking audition that signals a breakout” talent.
Ziolkowski issued a statement that said: “When I read The Girl, I was struck by Samantha Geimer’s voice — clear, courageous, and long erased from the public narrative. This film is not about Roman Polanski; it is about returning Samantha’s story to her after years of being shaped by others. Told entirely through Samantha’s memories and inner life, the film restores her agency and complexity. Intimate and immersive, The Girl is a deeply human act of reclamation — confronting how power, myth, and media distortion erased a child’s truth, and honoring her resilience.”
Samantha Geimer, now in her sixties, issued a statement that declared: “This story has been a lifelong burden for all of us involved. I never imagined it could be transformed into something beautiful. Marina’s creativity and sensitivity made that possible — and that, to me, is a gift.” Geimer has said she has since forgiven Polanski for his actions in 1977. Polanski, now 93, fled the US before his sentencing and remains a fugitive.
Marina Ziolkowski made her film debut with the short But You Look So Good, which starred Natasha Bassett. It won the Audience Award at the Paris Champs-Élysées Film Festival. Another of her films, 19, was nominated for a César, a French Academy Award.
The Girl will be shot on location in Los Angeles later this year with the US-based producer KT Kent. Other producers are Philippe Gompel and Jean-Baptiste Babin for Backup Media.
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