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“I Like to Reflect the Full Spectrum of the Human Experience”: Jodie Foster on Vie Privée at the 23rd FICM

Sofía Alvarado

On Friday morning, Jodie Foster presented Vie Privée (2025) at the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) in a press conference at the Rubén Romero Theater. The film was co-written and directed by Rebecca Zlotowski.

In this film, Jodie Foster plays a psychiatrist who investigates the possible suicide of one of her patients, which she suspects was actually murder. The character becomes a sort of detective, while the film also turns into a thriller set in France.

During the presentation, the actress shared her experience of shooting a film in a language other than her own, which was quite a challenge. Although she has had French dialogue in other projects, this film is entirely in French, which influenced her performance somewhat. "The wonderful thing about making a movie is that you learn about the characters you play. I like the challenge of learning to do the things my characters do," she added.

Regarding the use of artificial intelligence, she explained that in this film it is a positive influence, as in the scene where there is an interior dream sequence, all those images were generated with artificial intelligence. “The images were rarely illogical; there was something very strange about that inner life.”

During her whole career, she had only worked with one female director, but for the past three years she has worked exclusively with women. Afterwards, she spoke a little about the roles she has chosen to play: “It wasn't always easy. I want to play well-rounded characters who are strong and vulnerable, who know exactly where they are going or are completely lost. I like to reflect the full spectrum of the human experience and not just be a woman who serves the male lead character.”

At the beginning and end of the conference, the actress, who also starred in Martin Scorsese's iconic Taxi Driver (1976), reiterated her love for Morelia and the festival: “I fell in love with Mexico through Morelia. This festival is special. Many festivals feel more like markets, but this one feels like a festival for filmmakers.”