Barbra Streisand accepted her honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival via a pre-recorded video message, after being unable to attend due to a knee injury. The festival proceeded with the honour despite her absence, with Isabelle Huppert introducing the multi-talented star.
In her message, Streisand recalled how foreign films shown at the Astor cinema near her high school—works by directors such as Truffaut, Bergman, Fellini, and Kurosawa—inspired her to become an actress. 'I was mesmerized by those images on the screen... I wanted to be an actress and live in those other more-interesting worlds,' she said.
The two-time Oscar winner also spoke about her journey to directing, noting that she faced resistance as a woman wanting to direct. 'Every studio turned me down, and for 15 years the project was on the verge of collapsing, but I had to make this movie,' she said, referring to her directorial debut 'Yentl'.
Streisand concluded by praising film's ability to unite people in a fractured world. 'Film has that magical ability to unite us... and I'm so proud to be part of this career,' she said. The festival also awarded honorary Palmes d'Or to John Travolta and Peter Jackson earlier this year.
