Marina Zenovich said, "It's very bizarre to be sitting in court and hear my name or my film. It's not what I thought would happen-- though I must say people predicted it, including my father who's a former judge."
Her father is former Fresno Appellate Judge George Zenovich. He said, "I'm very proud of her."
He says his daughter-- a Bullard High School graduate-- wanted to find out the truth behind why Polanski fled the country 32-years ago after agreeing to a plea deal in the rape of a 13-year old girl. Her investigation uncovered possible misconduct by a prosecutor and the judge handling the case.
George Zenovich said, "He was looking for some type of exposure or something because Polanski was a big director at the time."
Polanski's attorneys cited Zenovich's film in their arguments this week to dismiss the case.
"This would have never have been discovered had it not been for this movie-- that how it all started," said George Zenovich.
Marina Zenovich has won two Emmys and various other awards for "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired"-- but also, attention and accolades she says she never expected. She said, "I spent five years making the first film and started making a follow up and have been waiting for this day for a very long time. Then he got arrested in the middle of it-- it's just taken a very bizarre turn"
Zenovich believes there should be an evidentiary hearing to get the people who were involved in the case 30 years ago-- on the stand. A decision from the appellate court is expected within 90 days.
