Roman Polanski has made his return to Zurich, two years after being arrested there on sex charges.
Back in 2009 the French-Polish film director was en route to receive a life achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival, but never made it to pick up the accolade.
Swiss police detained him at the request of the United States where he is wanted for sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl dating back more than thirty years.
But extradition has since been refused.
At the ceremony on Tuesday evening Polanski used the opportunity to thank the people who supported him at the time.
SOUNDBITE: Roman Polanski, film director, saying (English):
"I would like to use the opportunity of being here to thank all those people who supported me during those difficult months. I would particularly like to say my thanks to the prison staff who were trying to make my stay there as bearable as possible and who gave me tremendous amounts of heart. I would especially like to thank the head of the prison of Zurich, Anton. I am serious, this is not a joke. Far from it. They really made these months possible to live."
Polanski, who won an Oscar for his directional work on the "The Pianist," spent two months in a Swiss jail in 2009 and was then placed under house arrest at his chalet in the ski resort of Gstaad.
The 78-year-old travel shy director, has been notably absent from a number of film events, most recently the Venice Film Festival where his film "Carnage" world premiered.
Only his cast members including Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet and John C. Reilly were in attendance.
Polanski's travel still remains restricted because of an Interpol warrant, but he can move freely in Switzerland and France, where he lives.
Kathi Urban, Reuters.
