Actress and filmmaker Jodie Foster will be the special guest of the Opening Ceremony and Honorary Palme d’Or of the 74th Cannes Film Festival.
Actress and filmmaker Jodie Foster will receive the honorary Palme d’Or at the 74th Festival of Cannes. She will receive the award at the festival’s opening ceremony on the stage at the Palais des Festivals on Tuesday, July 6, 2021.
Foster receives the award in recognition of her artistic journey and her commitment to major issues. “Cannes is a festival to which I owe so much, it has completely changed my life. My first time on the Croisette was a defining moment for me. Showcasing one of my films here has always been a dream of mine,” said Foster.
The actress made her debut in 1976, at only the age of 13, in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, which won the Palme d’Or for best film. Foster, now 58, has acted in nearly 50 pieces of work and has directed four feature films.
Foster is best known for her Oscar award-winning performances in the 1989 film The Accused and the 1992 film The Silence of the Lambs. Over the years, a total of seven of her films have screened at the festival.
President Pierre Lescure stated she “Has provided us with an amazing gift by coming to celebrate the return of the Festival on the Croisette. Her aura is unparalleled: she embodies modernity, the radiant intelligence of independence and the need for freedom.”
General Delegate, Theirry Fremaux expressed that, “Jodie never ceases to reinvent herself. She questions with her piercing gaze learns from others and is willing to step back from her beliefs in order to forge new morals. Do what is fair. An idea that she strives to convey in the decisions she makes as an actress and director, and which makes her so precious during our confusing times. We will honor her with warmth and admiration!”
Foster now follows Jeanne Moreau, Bernardo Bertolucci, Jane Fonda, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Manoel de Oliveira, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Agnès Varda and Alain Delon, who previously won the Palme d’or.
“I am flattered that Cannes thought of me and I am very honored to be able to share a few words of wisdom or tell an adventure or two with a new generation of filmmakers,” stated Foster.
The 2021 Official Selection will be announced by Pierre Lescure and Thierry Frémaux and can be watched live on June 3rd at 11 am (CEST) on YouTube, Dailymotion, Facebook, Twitter, and at www.festival-cannes.com.