In a taped acceptance message to the filled Grand Theatre Lumiere at Cannes for her honorary Palme D’Or, Barbra Streisand shared how foreign film propelled her into both an acting and directing career.
Streisand was unable to make it to Cannes due to doctor’s orders over her knee injury. The festival decided to move forward her honor despite her absence.
After an introduction by Isabelle Huppert, the multi-hyphenate remembered the cinema near her high school, the Astor, which showed foreign pics from Truffaut, Bergman, Fellini, Kurosawa.
“I was mesmerized by those images on the screen, they were so powerful that they’re still in my head. I wanted to be an actress and live in those other more-interesting worlds,” said the 2x Oscar winner.
“Years later, I was lucky enough to work with great directors like William Wyler, Vincent Minelli, Sydney Pollack, and I realized I was always looking at the movie as a whole, my part, and I asked a lot of questions. I had suggestions, although I didn’t realize that at the time I was looking like a director trying to figure out how to tell the story, and I had stories I wanted to tell, like Yentl, about a 19th century Jewish woman who had to masquerade as a man to get an education.”
She continued, “But I was a woman, which was an obstacle to people, and even worse, I was an actress who wanted to direct, so every studio turned me down, and for 15 years the project was on the verge of collapsing, but I had to make this movie, and that’s the kind of passion I think all of us here tonight share for film.”
“In a crazy, volatile world seems more fractured every day, it’s reassuring to see the compelling movies at this festival by artists from many countries. Film has that magical ability to unite us, opening our hearts and minds, and that’s what we’re really celebrating at Cannes, and I’m so proud to be part of this career, so Merci Beaucoup and Vive La Cinema!”
Last week, John Travolta received a surprise honorary Palme D’Or for his career before the premiere of his Apple Original Film, Propeller: One-Way Night Coach. Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson also received an honorary Palme D’Or at the start of this year’s fest.
