Jodie Foster accepted the Tribute Award at the Marrakech Film Festival on Saturday and gave a moving speech reflecting on her 60 years in the film industry.
After reels of her most famous roles, including “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Panic Room,” were shown, Foster graciously accepted the trophy on stage.
“I’m going to ask for his autograph,” Foster joked as he accepted the award from Bong Joon-ho. “When I saw all these videos, I thought, “I’ve been doing this for a long time now.” “I started in film in the 1960s and was lucky enough to experience the golden age of film in the 1970s. Then came the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and now we’re back in the 1970s.”
Foster added, “It’s been a really long time. And yet it’s gone by so quickly. And here I am, a little older and maybe a little weirder, but guided by the same love of telling stories, bringing characters to life, and asking questions about our connections, our fragility, and our humanity.”
She concluded her speech in an elegant manner by saying, “The greatest success in life is being happy.”
“And really, even in a very ridiculous way, I’m genuinely happy,” she said. “And like the movie said, life is beautiful.”
Before Foster accepted her award, “Taxi Driver” director Martin Scorsese surprised her with a video message during the ceremony. “I would like to celebrate this honor tonight in Marrakech. I wish I could have been there. You are such an important part of my work and career,” he said. “There’s been a joy in your work that I’ve been creating since before you could walk, in fact… I’ll never forget the memory of you walking into my office when I was eight or nine years old and being pulled in more than anyone else in the studio at the time.”
The two-time Oscar winner was at the Morocco Festival to promote her latest film, Private Life, directed by Rebecca Zlotowski. In the French comedy-thriller, which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year, Foster plays a Parisian psychiatrist whose life is forever changed by the death of one of his patients. Convinced that the patient was murdered, she begins her own investigation with the help of her ex-husband.
Foster’s first appearance at the Marrakech Film Festival will be with a host of stars in attendance, opening on Friday night. Bong, the director of the “Parasite” film, will serve as the head of this year’s jury, along with celebrities such as Jenna Ortega, who starred in “Wednesday,” Anya Taylor-Joy, who starred in “Furiosa,” and Celine Song, who directed “Past Lives.”
Speaking to Variety on the red carpet ahead of the opening ceremony, festival director Melita Toscan du Plantier said Foster, who arrived a few days earlier, “loves Morocco and would love to come back for a holiday.”
“She’s very shy and not much of a red carpet person, but she’s excited to be here and we’re very happy to have her,” Toscan du Plantier added.
“Frankenstein” director Guillermo del Toro will also be honored with a tribute award at the festival next week. He and Foster will join “The Secret Agent” director Kleber Mendonça Filho, AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer, “The Matrix” director Laurence Fishburne, “It Was Just an Accident” Palme d’Or winner Jafar Panahi, and “Blonde” director Andrew Dominick in conversation at the festival.
