While Jean Seberg reached her peak as an actress back in the 1960s, Kristen Stewart says her story is still relevant decades up to the present.

During the Toronto International Film Festival, the actress and her co-star Anthony Mackie and ‘Seberg’ director Benedict Andrews sat down for an interview with Deadline. In the interview, Stewart shared her sentiments and reflections on portraying the iconic ‘Breathless’ star. Seberg is known for being one of the most progressive voices of her time as she fought for racial equality despite being tracked by the United States government as a consequence.

“I’ve been lucky because I’ve never functioned in a way that was afraid,” Stewart said about the role. “I’m kind of piggybacking on this generation that doesn’t understand that, and it’s just not an issue for them.”

The actress also expressed how Seberg’s story reflected the restrictions that women feel are imposed on them. “Most women, for some reason – and I do this too, and it’s awful – I think that we’re all kind of conditioned to have these reactions to things, and we’re hopefully reprogramming. I think she was a huge proponent of that,” she says.

Seberg is among the numerous films at this year’s TIFF that puts the spotlight on real-life individuals who stood up against systemic injustice. Stewart feels that the release of the film is indeed timely with the world’s current political climate.

“It’s so bad right now,” the actress told Deadline. “Our president’s the most racist human being.”