Roman Polanski, the award-winning director known as much for drugging and having sex with a 13-year-old girl at Jack Nicholson's pad in the 70's, as for acclaimed films such as The Pianist and Rosemary's Baby, is now getting even more media attention, but this time it is for something a little different. On February 26, the exhibition "Roman Polanski, Director and Actor" opened at the Dusseldorf Film Museum in Germany, profiling the exiled movie maker's early career as a student actor up to his present accomplishments.

The work, which is on view until May 16, includes previously unseen photographs, sketches, costumes, scripts and outtakes. Most of the pieces on display came from the director himself, while some, including a selection of photographs of Polanski on set in various venues over the years, is on loan from friends and colleagues. To coincide with the installation, screenings of the director's more popular movies will be held.

The presentation also highlights Polanski's less emphasized acting career, which began at the age of 14 when he appeared in children's radio programs. He went on to star in his own film-school movies and later features such as The Tenant and Dance of the Vampires, as well as appearing on stage in Peter Shaffer's "Amadeus," and an adaptation of Kafka's "Metamorphosis."

Dusseldorf is the first stop in the collection's European tour, portions of which originated at the Museum of Cinematography in Lodz, the Polish city where Polanski began his film career.

Of Jewish decent, Polanski's mother perished in Auschwitz, and he narrowly escaped the ghetto in Krakow. By being celebrated in Germany for his achievements nearly 70 years after her death, it appears his life has come full circle. But while his oeuvre continues to travel Europe, Polanski himself is under house arrest in Gstaad, Switzerland, facing possible extradition to the U.S. due to sexual assault charges back in 1977. At least while holed up in his chalet, the filmmaker is able to add one more item to his list of career accomplishments.