This year at Festival de Cannes, American actress, director, and producer Jodie Foster will be the guest of honor at the Opening Ceremony on Tuesday, July 6. Foster will close the festival on Saturday, July 17 as the recipient of the Honorary Palme d’Or, an award given to trailblazers in the film industry. 

Since her first appearance presenting at the Festival de Cannes in 1976 as a teenager, her filmography has grown in popularity and reached high standards. She has acted in around 50 pieces of work, directed 4 feature films, and received 2 Oscars for The Accused (1989) and The Silence of the Lambs (1992). Her career has also bridged the Hollywood industry and auteur films together. 

Foster has been a trusted friend of the Festival de Cannes for more than four decades. According to the Festival’s official website, General Delegate Thierry Frémaux says that she “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… We will honor her with warmth and admiration!”

Not only has Foster proved herself time and again the breadth of her skill, but she is also passionate about cinematography and the film industry as a whole. She has actively contributed to the restoration of the work of Dorothy Arzner, one of the few Hollywood directors who had the courage to film brave women experiencing the struggles surrounding class and gender. The commitment of Arzner reflects Foster’s own, who constantly expresses her views on equality within the film industry.

And at the 2016 Festival de Cannes, Foster’s speeches reference Pamela B. Green’s documentary Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché, in which Foster is the ambassador and narrator. The documentary dedicates itself to the long-forgotten filmmaker, a story that Foster aligns herself strongly with. Through her work and efforts, she demonstrates the tenacity needed to strive for femme-cinema excellence and is worthy of such a prestigious award.