25/03/2003 - French culture minister Aillagon publically congratulates Polish-born director for his triple Oscar victory as The Pianist continues its extraordinary international life cycle

The French culture minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon issued a press release congratulating film director, Roman Polanski, on his triple Oscar victory for The Pianist [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. The film industry’s top awards join the Palme d’Or that the Polish-born filmmaker won in Cannes, seven Césars and two Baftas.

Aillagon emphasised the contribution made to the worldwide success of this film by its two French producers, Alain Sarde and Robert Benmoussa, and said that The Pianist was "the perfect example of French cinema’s ability in producing far reaching and ambitious film that appealed to a truly global audience. "

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Polanski’s film has had a remarkable theatrical life cycle. According to Unifrance, the agency for the promotion of French cinema abroad, as of the end of February The Pianist has been seen by over 10 million people worldwide, 1.6 million of whom in France, close to 2 million in the United States, 1.3 million in Spain... Released onto 227 Japanese screens, The Pianist sold over 200,000 tickets in two days. The film’s Oscar victory is likely to drive those figures into orbit.

(Translated from French)