Jodie Foster to receive lifetime achievement award at Athena Fest

NEW YORK, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Jodie Foster will receive the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2015 Athena Film Festival.

The 52-year-old actress will be honored in recognition of her work as an actress and director. The annual event takes place at Barnard College in New York, and celebrates female leadership in the movie industry.

The 5th Athena Film Festival is scheduled for Feb. 5-8. Foster will receive her award Feb. 7, and HBO Documentary Films president Sheila Nevins, director Gina Prince-Bythewood and producer Cathy Schulman are among the other honorees.

"It is truly an honor to receive the Laura Ziskin Achievement Award at the Athena Film Festival, which celebrates the power, creativity and leadership of women in the entertainment industry," Foster said in a statement. "These are values I share deeply with the festival and I am thrilled to be recognized amongst my colleagues and peers."

"We are privileged to celebrate the career of such an inspirational and talented woman this year at the Athena Film Festival," event co-founder Melissa Silverstein lauded. "Jodie Foster is a trailblazer in the industry, and since the beginning of her career has broken down barriers for female filmmakers and actresses."

Foster is known for such films as Taxi Driver and The Silence of the Lambs. She most recently appeared with Matt Damon in Elysium, and also helmed episodes of House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. She will direct George Clooney and Julia Roberts in new drama Money Monster for release this year.