Before receiving her Donostia Award, the French actress Marion Cotillard spoke to the press about her career, her models in cinema and expressed her gratitude for the award. She also answered questions about the environmental documentary Bigger Than Us which she produced and is presenting at the Festival, acknowledging the power that actors have to make use of their fame to publicise the work of activists.

She acknowledged that the Oscar she won for playing Édith Piaf in La vie en rose in 2007 opened the doors to international cinema, and asked about the powerful women she often played, Cotillard revealed that the more different the character she played, the more satisfaction she found in her work.

She also referred to the powerful French film industry: “France is the country of cinema. It’s in France’s DNA”.