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Jodie Foster To Be Honored at the 2016 British Academy Britannia Awards

26 September 2016

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles (BAFTA Los Angeles) announced today that it will recognize actor-director Jodie Foster with the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film at this year’s AMD British Academy Britannia Awards presented by Jaguar Land Rover and American Airlines.

CTMG, Inc.The annual gala celebration will take place on Friday, October 28, 2016 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. As previously announced, Ang Lee will be honored with the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing, Samuel L. Jackson will be honored with the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment, Ricky Gervais will be honored with the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy, Ewan McGregor will be honored with the Britannia Humanitarian Award, and Felicity Jones will be honored with the British Artist of the Year presented by Burberry.  World-renowned television and event production company Done + Dusted will produce the ceremony.

The Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film is presented to a unique individual, upon whose work is stamped the indelible mark of authorship and commitment, and who has lifted the craft to new heights.  Prior recipients of the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film include Meryl Streep, Robert Downey Jr., George Clooney, Warren Beatty, Jeff Bridges, Tom Cruise, Daniel Day Lewis, Robert De Niro, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, George Lucas, Sean Penn, Steven Spielberg and Denzel Washington.

"It seems fitting that in this 40th Anniversary year of both Taxi Driver and Bugsy Malone, we are honoring Jodie’s remarkable trail-blazing career at the Britannia Awards," said Kieran Breen, Chairman of BAFTA Los Angeles. "It takes a rare and special talent to launch an international career with two amazingly different performances, and Jodie’s choices as an actor and director have continued to earn a deserved reputation as one of the most versatile professionals of our time."

The British Academy Britannia Awards is BAFTA’s big night out in Hollywood, where Brits and anglophiles alike come together in celebration of exceptional individuals who have dedicated their careers to advancing the art forms of the moving image in the US, UK and beyond. Known to be an enjoyable evening that captures a unique blend of sincerity and British irreverence, the evening also serves to celebrate the long-standing collaboration between the British and American industries. The Britannia Awards are BAFTA Los Angeles’ highest accolades, recognizing both outstanding British talent, and exceptional international talent by virtue of their strong connection to the British industry through their body of work. Proceeds from the event support BAFTA Los Angeles’ on-going education, scholarship, community outreach and archival projects.

Jodie Foster’s stunning performances as a rape survivor in The Accused and as Special Agent Clarice Starling in the hit thriller The Silence of the Lambs earned her two Academy Awards® for Best Actress and a reputation as one of the most critically acclaimed actresses of her generation.

Foster began her career at age three, appearing as “The Coppertone Girl” in the television commercial. She then went on to become a regular on a number of television series, including “Mayberry RFD,” “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father,” “My Three Sons” and “Paper Moon.” She made her feature debut in Napoleon and Samantha when she was eight years old.

But it was her role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1975), which brought her to the audience’s attention, and her powerful portrayal of a streetwise teenager in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976) that won her widespread critical praise and international attention. Foster appeared in a total of four films in 1976, Bugsy Malone, Echoes of Summer, Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane and Taxi Driver, which were all presented at the Cannes Film Festival. Alan Parker’s Bugsy Malone, earned her an Italian Comedy Award.

In total, Foster has appeared in more than 40 films, including recent films Elysium opposite Matt Damon for director Neil Blomkamp; Carnage for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination; Nim’s Island with Gerard Butler; The Brave One for director Neil Jordan for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination; Inside Man with Denzel Washington and Clive Owen; the box-office hit Flightplan; Jean Pierre Jeunet’s French language film, A Very Long Engagement; David Fincher’s box-office success, Panic Room; Anna and the King for director Andy Tenant, Contact for director Robert Zemeckis; Nell opposite Liam Neeson; the comedy Maverick opposite Mel Gibson and James Garner and the romantic drama Sommersby opposite Richard Gere.

Other select motion picture credits include Woody Allen’s stylized black and white comedy Shadows and Fog; Siesta; Stealing Home; Five Corners; as well as earlier films Tom Sawyer; Freaky Friday; Adrian Lyne’s Foxes; Tony Richardson’s The Hotel New Hampshire and Claude Chabrol’s The Blood of Others, for which the multi-lingual Foster looped all of her own dialogue in French.

For her role in The Silence of the Lambs, Foster was also awarded a Golden Globe® Award, a British Academy Award, a New York Film Critics Award and a Chicago Film Critics Award. Foster received her first Oscar® nomination and awards from the National Society of Film Critics and the Los Angeles Film Critics for her role in Taxi Driver. She also became the only American actress to win two separate awards in the same year from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts – Best Supporting Actress and Best Newcomer honoring her performances in both Taxi Driver and Bugsy Malone.

In 2013 she was presented with the Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for Lifetime Achievement.

In addition to her acting, Foster has always had a keen interest in the art of filmmaking.

Foster made her motion picture directorial debut in 1991 with the highly acclaimed Little Man Tate, in which she also starred. In 1995, Foster directed her second film, Home for the Holidays, which she also produced. The film starred Holly Hunter, Anne Bancroft and Robert Downey Jr. In 2011 she directed The Beaver, which starred Mel Gibson, Jennifer Lawrence and Anton Yelchin and Foster.

More recently, Foster made her television directorial debut. She directed episodes of two highly acclaimed Netflix series – Orange is the New Black and House of Cards. Foster received an Emmy Award Nomination and a Director’s Guild Award Nomination for “Best Directing in a Comedy Series” for Orange is the New Black and a Director’s Guild Award Nomination for “Best Directing in a Drama Series” for House of Cards.

In 2015 Foster directed the thriller Money Monster which stars George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Jack O’Connell. The film was released by Tristar in May 2016.

Foster founded Egg Pictures in 1992 and the company produced Nell (1994), for which Foster earned an Academy Award® nomination for Best Actress; Home for the Holidays (1995); the Showtime telefilm The Baby Dance (1998) which received a Peabody Award, four Emmy® Award nominations and three Golden Globe® Award nominations; as well as USA Films’ Waking the Dead, directed by Keith Gordon starring Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly. In 1996, Egg presented the award-winning French film Hate (L’Haine) in the United States. Foster and Egg Pictures also produced The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2001).

Foster graduated with honors from Yale University in 1985, earning a B.A. in literature.

The 2015 ceremony took place in October at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Harrison Ford received the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment, Orlando Bloom received the Britannia Humanitarian Award presented by the Beazley Group, Meryl Streep received the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film, Sam Mendes received the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing presented by the GREAT Britain campaign, James Corden received the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year presented by Burberry and Amy Schumer received the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy presented by Kodak.

The British Academy Britannia Awards is produced through a partnership between BAFTA Los Angeles and Done & Dusted. Event Production and Management is by MTA Events.

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About BAFTA

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – featuring workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes – in the UK, USA and Asia; it offers unique access to the world’s most inspiring talent and connects with a global audience of all ages and backgrounds. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. To access the best creative minds in film, television and games production, visit www.bafta.org/guru. For more, visit www.bafta.org.

Founded in 1987, BAFTA Los Angeles serves as a bridge between the Hollywood and British production and entertainment business communities. Its commitment to professional and community education is at the heart of all activity, including an award-winning community outreach programme, screenings, seminars, Behind Closed Doors series, Q&As, scholarships for British students studying in the US, a Newcomers Program for emerging British talents working in the US, and a Heritage Archive project that preserves in-depth interviews with the industry's leading talents for future generations. BAFTA Los Angeles celebrates and promotes excellence through its annual Britannia Awards, Awards Season Film and Television Tea Parties and the Student Film Awards.

BAFTA Los Angeles is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Corporation and relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing work. www.bafta.org/losangeles

About Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is the UK's largest automotive manufacturer, built around two iconic British car brands:  Land Rover, the world’s leading manufacturer of premium all-wheel-drive vehicles; and Jaguar, one of the world’s premier luxury sports sedan and sports car marques.

The company employs almost 38,000 people globally, with 330 in the U.S. and supports around 275,000 more through our dealerships, suppliers and local businesses. Manufacturing is centred in the UK, with additional plants in China, Brazil and India.

At Jaguar Land Rover we are driven by a desire to create class-leading products that deliver great customer experiences.  The largest investor in R&D in the UK manufacturing sector, we have invested £12 billion (USD$15.7 billion) in the last five years and in the current year alone will spend over £3 billion (USD$3.9 billion) on new product creation and capital expenditure. Last year Jaguar Land Rover sold 487,065 vehicles in 160 countries, with more than 80% of our vehicles produced in the UK being sold abroad.

About American Airlines Group

American Airlines and American Eagle offer an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries. American has hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C.  American is a founding member of the oneworld alliance, whose members serve more than 1,000 destinations with about 14,250 daily flights to over 150 countries. Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AAL. In 2015, its stock joined the S&P 500 index. Connect with American on Twitter @AmericanAir and at Facebook.com/AmericanAirlines.