Jodie Foster accepts prestigious George Eastman Award

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Acclaimed actress and filmmaker Jodie Foster accepted the George Eastman Award on Thursday at the Dryden Theatre for her contributions to the art of cinema.

She joins a group of legendary actors and directors including Charlie Chaplin, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, and Julia Roberts to receive the prestigious award.

Thursday was Foster’s second night in Rochester. On Wednesday, she spoke about the making of “The Silence of the Lambs” before a film screening at the Dryden Theatre in the George Eastman Museum. Foster won an Academy Award for playing FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling in the 1991 film.

“I think we could all look at each other and say, wow, we never did anything that good again,” Foster said. “I don’t know. I don’t think you ever get that experience that often, where all of you are on this beautiful ride that you all believe in, that you’re all committed to telling the same story.”

As it turns out Foster is as big a fan of Rochester as we are of her.

“It’s so green, it’s so beautiful, and there’s all these beautiful homes. It’s kind of like the America that you want people to say ‘oh, this is what America is like.’ It’s great,” Foster said.

To celebrate Foster’s legacy, the Dryden Theatre screened seven of her films throughout May. One of those was the 1988 film “The Accused” where Foster won her first Academy Award for portraying a rape survivor.

Foster, born in Los Angeles, has become one of the most acclaimed actresses of our time over her career of more than 45 years. Recently, she has also ventured into filmmaking, making her debut as a director for the 1991 film “Little Man Tate” and more recently “Home for the Holidays” and “The Beaver”. She will also star in the upcoming season of HBO’s “True Detective: Night Country.”