Controversial director Woody Allen said he has been “very lucky my whole life” and “not been held accountable for things I did poorly” in his work.

Speaking at a press conference at Venice Film Festival for his new film, Coup De Chance, he said: “When I started making films, all the people chose to emphasise what I was able to do well and to not hold me accountable for the things that I did poorly. They were very generous to me.”

The four-time Oscar winner, 87, has been embroiled in controversy after Dylan Farrow, his then-seven-year-old adoptive daughter with Mia Farrow, accused him of molesting her as a child.

Allen has denied the allegations, which Dylan first made in 1992. No charges have been brought against him.