Long before Juliette Binoche was named president of the Cannes jury, her acting career was born at the international film festival.

Forty years ago, French director André Téchiné’s Paris-set Rendez-Vous debuted here, with Binoche starring as a young actress who finds herself entangled in romances with three men, all while chasing her dream of making it on the big screen. 

THR’s review of the romantic drama commended her “complex,” “not one-dimensional” performance, affirming that Binoche — who had appeared in a few small films before this point — “radiates a power that transcends her sex-kitten character”: “She’s a bright new talent who’s as alluring as Charlotte Rampling or Dominique Sanda.”

The film proved to be a launching pad for the actress. “I was born at the Festival de Cannes,” she later recalled. Binoche went on to win an Academy Award for her supporting role in 1996’s The English Patient and has returned to Cannes 10 times, earning the title of best actress in 2010 for her performance in Abbas Kiarostami’s romance Certified Copy.

“In 1985, I walked up the [Palais] steps for the first time with the enthusiasm and uncertainty of a young actress,” Binoche said at the time of the jury announcement. “I never imagined I’d return 40 years later in the honorary role of president of the jury.”