Jodie Foster, in Cannes for new French film, prefers life outside of us

By Francesca Halliwell and Miranda Murray Cannes, France (Reuters) -Jody Foster preferred to be outside the United States, the Oscar award -winning actor told Reuters on Wednesday, with a view to better circumstances in the film industry in Europe, as well as more freedom. Foster was in the south of France for the premiere of “A Private Life”, a psychological thriller in which Foster accepts the role of a psychiatrist who engages herself with the examination of her patient’s death, played by Virginie Efira. The American-born actor, who won two Oscars for ‘The Disessed’ in 1989 and ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ in 1992, only had to talk in French for the Cannes movie showing from the competition. Foster, 62, started her career films in the age of 3, and received numerous awards during her career, including an honorary Palme D’Or Award from Cannes in 2021. ” Foster, who first came to Cannes as 13-year-old when she played in ‘taxi driver’, said that the work as director in France is better than in the US due to more creative freedom. The mixing of genres, such as director Rebecca Zlotowski in Foster’s new film, is very unusual in the US, she said. Studios want a film to be a thriller or a comedy, they don’t want a mix of the two, she said, while France allows the director to have more authority over such decisions. “That’s why filmmakers like to come here.” In Europe, female directors also had more opportunities compared to the US, says Foster, himself a director. “I only worked with one female director until a few years ago. Isn’t that so surprising? After I made 60 films that I barely worked with another woman? ‘ she said. ‘Europe has always had a female tradition, or at least some time. But in America, the bias really seized that bias in some way. ‘ (Reporting by Francesca Halliwell and Miranda Murray; Editing by Sandra Maler)