Jodie Foster Embraces ‘Vie Privée’ Director as French Murder Mystery Gets 8-Minute Cannes Standing Ovation

“Vie Privée,” a mystery about a psychotherapist who becomes convinced that her patient’s suicide was actually a murder, scored a eight-minute standing ovation at its Cannes Film Festival premiere on Tuesday night as Jodie Foster embraced director Rebecca Zlotowski after the screening. The film stars Foster in a French-speaking role and marks her first film shot in France since 2004’s “A Very Long Engagement.”

Foster has been a frequent presence in Cannes throughout her decades-long career, recently hitting the Croisette in 2021 to receive an Honorary Palme d’or. Several of her films have also premiered at the festival, including “Taxi Driver,” which won the Palme d’or in 1976, as well as 2016’s “Money Monster,” a thriller with George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and 2011’s Mel Gibson drama “The Beaver,” both of which she directed. Foster speaks French fluently, having attended the Lycée Français de Los Angeles while growing up.

“Vie Privée” combines a number of genres — it’s part thriller, part character study and part relationship comedy. Zlotowski, whose credits include “Grand Central” and “Planetarium,” wrote the film and directs it. Foster’s co-stars include Daniel Auteuil, who plays her ex-husband, and Virginie Edina, who portrays a mysterious patient whose death triggers her investigation. Sony Pictures Classics will distribute “Vie Privée” in North America.

After stepping back from acting for many years, Foster has recently been busy in front of the camera. She was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress for 2023’s “Nyad” and won an Emmy for her role as troubled investigator in 2024’s “True Detective: Night Country.”