February 1980. In photographs from that time, she still has a child's round cheeks, but something in her demeanor, in the brightness of her clear eyes, already hinted at the intoxication of freedom. Seventeen-year-old Jodie Foster was starring in Foxes, the story of four teenage girls rebelling against their families to live their own lives despite the hostility and misunderstanding of their surroundings. "They dare to do what others dream of," promised the trailer. At the time of the film's release, Rebecca Zlotowski, born on April 21, 1980, was still just a promise, resting in the belly of a mother seven months pregnant. Despite a nearly 20-year age difference, Zlotowski, who became one of the most prominent French directors of her generation, has held an enduring fascination for Foster.

Forty-five years after Foxes, Foster plays the lead role in Vie privée ("Private Life"), Zlotowski's latest film, which will premiere out of competition at Cannes before its official release on November 26. "It's as if I've spent my whole life searching for a character I could offer to Jodie Foster," Zlotowski said when we met her in Paris, in the garden-level office she rents.

Outside, a wisteria had just begun to bloom. Inside, there were books, trinkets, a chair shaped like a hand where the tenant sat and a conversation that began with an observation: "Going to Cannes out of competition is the same exposure without the pressure. Sure, it's less rewarding because you always want to be part of a club that refuses you, but I'm lucky to be very well considered by a system that can be harsh."

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