7. Is there any new information revealed in your film?

There is but I’d rather let it surprise you. The best films I’ve gone to have been the ones I didn’t really know anything about, so indulge me.

8. What about the media circus? Was that the beginning of tabloid celebrity coverage?

It was one of the earliest examples of 24/7, full-on media coverage, yes. Both Roman and the girl — whose identity was not known at the time — were hunted down. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like.

9. Since his protectors, enablers, his very smart lawyer, even his prosecuting attorney and the victim herself all “forgave” him, should we?

It is really up to you whether you want to forgive Roman Polanski or not. It was not my intention in making this film. I think the question is: Was he treated fairly by our judicial system? How long does someone have to pay for a crime?

10. Is it possible one can feel real sympathy and understanding for Roman regarding how his case was handled and, at the same time, feel revulsion for what he did? And betrayal by the U.S. justice system?

Yes it is possible. You can feel revulsion for what he did and at the same time recognize that he got a raw deal from our justice system. The intent of the film was not to make a moral judgment on his actions, but rather to explore the case and how it was handled by the legal system and the media. It has been really rewarding for me when people come up — like someone did last night at a screening — and say, "I hated him before and the film changed my mind." Then again there are others whose opinions don’t change. I feel I did my job when people are rethinking the facts based on the case — not their preconceived ideas. Because, as a journalist says in the film, everyone had an opinion on this case! Everyone still does.

11. What did you think about Polanski when you began the project? Did you feel differently about him at the end of the process?

I have always been a fan of Polanski’s films. My personal feelings about Polanski and several other characters went back and forth as I was making the film but I had a lot of work to do so I didn’t focus on it.

12. Judge Laurence Rittenband was the most unexpected and controversial subject in the film. He certainly plays a pivotal role in the case. If this had happened today, do you think the case would have played out as it did then? Would the judge have been able to behave in the same way?

I don’t know. It is not my world. A lawyer friend attended a screening and said there are a lot of judges like that today. I would hope there weren’t. I think the ’70s was a very different time and the judges had a tremendous amount of power.

13. If Lolita is a great work of art by Nabokov about a misguided man physically and psychologically in love with a very young nubile girl, what parallel conclusions can one draw about Roman Polanski and his admitted crime of acting on his impulses with underage females. “I like young girls,” he says in the documentary. Do you think Polanski’s “crime” is more of a psychological impulse than a real crime?

Sex with an underage girl is a crime as well as a psychological impulse. But a crime is a crime. And a lot of people have a hard time seeing past that — whatever the real facts of why he fled are.

Click here for a sneak preview of "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired."