Jodie Foster Shares Insights from Her Long Career During Marrakech Celebration
Jodie Foster was honored with a prestigious award at the Marrakech Film Festival on Saturday, reflecting on her impressive career that spans over 50 years. The actress received the accolade during a ceremony that highlighted her evolution from early roles in films like One Little Indian and Taxi Driver to her Oscar-winning performances in The Accused and The Silence of The Lambs, culminating in her recent work in the French-language drama Private Life.
As Foster took the stage, she shared her thoughts on the montage of her career. "Seeing all these clips, I thought to myself: I’ve been doing this job for quite a while now," she remarked. "I’m still here, a little older, perhaps more wrinkled, but guided by the same love of telling stories, of bringing characters to life, of asking questions about our connections, our fragilities, our humanity."
Bong Joon Ho, the jury president for this year’s festival, presented the award to Foster. In his tribute, he emphasized the importance of her choices to cinema. "Foster is an example of how great choices make great cinema," he stated.
He cited a pivotal scene in The Silence of the Lambs, where Foster’s character, FBI trainee Clarice Starling, recalls the cries of young sheep. "All we see is her haunting performance,” Joon Ho explained. “This is an example of a great choice." He also referenced how her portrayal in Contact, during a moment of awe as her character witnesses a celestial event, profoundly impacted the audience. “We are not moved by the depiction of the celestial event but by her face as she was witnessing it unfold. This too was a great choice,” he added.
Joon Ho noted that Martin Scorsese’s decision to cast Foster in Taxi Driver was crucial, stating, “The great choice was simply the casting of Jodie Foster… she was the foundation on which the film was built on, my sincere apologies to the great Robert De Niro.”
Scorsese contributed to the ceremony with a pre-recorded message reminiscing about their first meeting before casting her in Taxi Driver. “You’re such an important part of my work, my career… nothing will ever take away the memory of you walking into my office,” he shared, expressing admiration for her diverse body of work.
As Foster reflected on her career journey, she stated that her greatest achievement was her happiness. “Truly, it might sound silly, but I am profoundly happy. As the film says, life is beautiful,” she concluded, extending gratitude to her wife, Alexandra Hedison, and their children, Charlie and Kit.
