Penn, Polanski the stars of Zurich Film Festival

[September 21, 2011]  GENEVA (AP) -- Sean Penn and Roman Polanski are the stars of this year's Zurich Film Festival.

Polanski will accept the festival's lifetime achievement award that he was unable to pick up two years ago after being arrested at Zurich airport.

After months of imprisonment and house arrest, the Polish-French director successfully avoided extradition to the United States on charges of having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. He has been able to travel unhindered to Switzerland since.

Penn is to receive the festival's Golden Icon Award for his lifetime achievement as an actor, director and producer.

American actor Laurence Fishburne is among the feature films judges.

The seventh installment of this festival begins in Switzerland's biggest city Thursday and runs through Oct. 2.

[Associated Press]

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