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"I like to make films creating an atmosphere of enjoyment": Jodie Foster Gives Master Class at the 21st FICM

Aura Reséndiz

Veteran actress and film director Jodie Foster, accompanied by editor Nick James, gave a master class at the Melchor Ocampo Theater during the 21st Morelia International Film Festival (FICM). 

With an extensive career spanning over 50 years, the actress revealed to the audience that The Deer Hunter​ (1978) was the film that "changed her life" and made her "consider cinema differently." Particularly, the scene where the prisoners and childhood friends hand each other a gun, which has only one bullet. It was the scene that made her think, " That's what I want to do when I grow up."

Having played her first few roles at a very young age, Foster didn't consider acting a job she would devote her whole life to. However, her experience in the role on Taxi Driver (1976) made her reconsider acting and its depth as something more than "just acting naturally."

She had that revelation in a hotel in New York. "I remember being in the elevator and walking out to the hotel room and seeing my mom and saying to her, 'I had an epiphany, I just understood that I haven't given myself completely to acting and that acting can be something deeper.' And that's when everything changed," the actress said during the Master Class.

But as time went on, the actress doubted whether she would continue in the industry, thinking that when she went to college her career would end: "Child actors, when they are 16 or 17 years old, almost always feel that their career is over. In fact, my mom told me it was going to end, but that's not what happened."

With films like The Accused (1988) and Silence of the Lambs (1991), Jodie Foster became a two-time Oscar winner for Best Actress. The former was precisely where she learned how to "trust your instincts and don't think too much".

Foster also has an extensive career as a film director. She debuted with Little Man Tate in 1991, in which she also starred. She later continued her career as a director with films such as Home for the Holidays (1995) and Money Monster (2016), and episodes of series such as Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, and Black Mirror, among others.

"What I love most about directing is being on set with hundreds of people and creating an environment that is full of enjoyment. That's how I like to make movies. That's what allows me to create the best experiences. I love making films that are very well prepared, with a lot of intention. I spend a lot of time in preparation, organizing things so that when the time comes, we have freedom and can be spontaneous," explained the actress and film director.

In addition to the talk with Nick James, Foster answered questions from some of the attendees. During the first intervention, she was asked about the impact that the actress has on the public, including Mexican audiences. 

"You start making movies because you love movies and movies change your life. You see yourself on the screen and you say: 'Now I understand my emotions, my feelings and I can express myself in a way that I couldn't before, that is, they make you better instead of making you worse. You become an actor or actress, you take on an artistic form, because you hope, in a way, to get better, rather than worse, and what you find is that you inspire other people to want to be better rather than worse, and for me, that's my drive to make movies," Foster said in response to an attendee's question. 

The actress, who has a career spanning over 50 years, has become one of the most prominent women of her generation in the industry, but it hasn't been easy. During the talk, she took the opportunity to highlight the support she received from the start in an era when male talent predominated. 

That experience prompted another attendee to ask the actress what advice she could give to those women who want to make films but don't have the same support.

"I feel like it's hard for young people to understand that it was a different time. But, well, now is also a different time, a time for different voices and it is very exciting to see new voices, new stories, that have been hidden, that have been made invisible, that have not had the opportunity to come out of marginality. That is why I say that these are no longer my times, I am here to support the times of others," she said.

In this sense, Foster reaffirmed her commitment to supporting new generations and called on the importance of giving space to new perspectives.  

"I think this is a very exciting time and it's going to take a continuous effort to make sure that, say, this male, white, supremacist culture, well, that this whole culture matures, and for this new perspective is understood. That we are all going to be better off by accepting this new perspective."

Jodie Foster Unveils Her Armchair

During the Master Class, Jodie Foster also unveiled her commemorative armchair. The event was attended by the President of FICM, Alejandro Ramírez, and the founder and General Director, Daniela Michel.

The unveiling was greeted with a round of applause and cheers from the audience. 

The recognition is in addition to the Award for Artistic Excellence presented to her by FICM and the UNAM Film Archive Medal that the remarkable actress received during her participation in the festival.