Film director Roman Polanski, who fled the United States in 1978 after admitting having sex with a 13-year-old girl, has controversially compared his situation to the wrongfully convicted French Jewish Army officer Alfred Dreyfus, the subject of his latest movie, An Officer And A Spy.

Interviewed by French philosopher Pascal Bruckner in advance of the screening of the movie at the Venice International Film Festival, Polanski, 86, spoke about the case of Dreyfus, whose false conviction for treason in 1894 (he was eventually exonerated) was a notorious example of French institutional antisemitism.

He went on to draw a comparison with his own experience, saying:  “I can see the same determination to deny the facts and condemn me for things I have not done. Most of the people who harass me do not know me and know nothing about the case.”

There has been disquiet over his participation in the festival with Argentine director Lucrezia Martel, who is chairing its jury, saying she did not want to "congratulate" Polanski and that his involvement in the festival made her "uncomfortable".

Born in France and raised in Poland (he survived the Warsaw Ghetto), Polanski’s career thrived after moving to America in 1968, coinciding with the release of his cult horror film Rosemary’s Baby.

The following year, his pregnant wife, actress and model Sharon Tate, and four of her friends were brutally murdered by members of the Manson “family” at the couple’s Los Angeles home.

In 1977 Polanski was arrested for the sexual assault of Samantha Geimer, then 13. In 1978, he fled to Europe and has remained outside of the US since then.

The lead-up to the Tate murders is the backdrop to Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.