Jodie Foster has been honoured with the coveted Tribute Award at the 2025 Marrakech Film Festival.

The storied actor took stock of her career spanning more than 50 years as she was feted with the award on Saturday evening.

Foster took to the stage after an extensive montage spanning early film credits including One Little Indian, Taxi Driver and Bugsy Malone; Oscar award-winning performances in The Accused and The Silence of the Lambs; and her most recent role in French language drama Private Life.

"Seeing all these clips, I thought to myself, I've been doing this job for quite a while now," she responded.

"I'm still here, a little older, perhaps more wrinkled, but guided by the same love of telling stories, of bringing characters to life, of asking questions about our connections, our fragilities, our humanity."

Korean director Bong Joon Ho, jury president this year, presented Foster with her award. In a tribute speech, he noted that Foster was an example of how great choices make great cinema.

Citing a scene in The Silence of the Lambs in which her character, FBI trainee Clarice Starling, recalls the shrieks of young sheep, Joon Ho said it was the close-up of her face that elevated the take.

"All we see is her haunting performance. This is an example of a great choice," he said.

Joon Ho went on to say that it was Martin Scorsese's casting of Foster in Taxi Driver that had made the movie, not that of Robert De Niro.

"The great choice was simply the casting of Jodie Foster, and I need not say more because Jodie Foster was the foundation on which the film was built. My sincere apologies to the great Robert De Niro."

As she reflected on her career journey, Foster said that beyond the work, her greatest achievement had been happiness.

"Truly, it might sound silly, but I am profoundly happy. As the film says, life is beautiful," she said, thanking her wife, Alexandra Hedison, and children Kit and Alex.