VARDA, AGNÈS

Varda, Agnès: translation

(1928- )

Cinematographer, director, producer, and screenwriter. Agnès Varda is arguably France's most prominentwomandirector. She was born in Belgium and went to France to study art history at the Ecole du Louvre and later changed her focus to photography at the Ecole de Vaugirard. She worked as the official photographer for the Théâtre National Populaire from 1951 to 1961 before shooting her firstauteurfilm, the featureLa Pointe Courte(1954). An independent film shot on location on a low budget,La Pointe Courtewas a precursor to theNouvelle Vagueor New Wave, and it was edited byAlain Resnais.

Varda did not have much experience in cinema when she started her career, yet her first film received accolades fromAndré Bazin. Her next feature,Cléo de 5 à 7(1961), has been associated with the New Wave, as has the featureLe bonheur(1964), which won thePrix Louis-Delluc. Varda's next feature,Les Créatures(1965), starringCatherine DeneuveandMichel Piccoli, was not generally as well received as her previous features. She shotLion's Love(1968) while living in California with her husbandJacques Demy. It was followed byL'Une chante,l'autre pas(1976), which recounts the story of two women during different stages of the feminist movement.Sans toit ni loi(1985) is the story of a homeless girl and is one of her best-known feature films. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and a César for its lead actress,Sandrine Bonnaire. Varda moved to California again and directed the featureDocumenteur(1981), set in Los Angeles.

Varda's documentaries are known for their personal, subjective dimensions.One of the most acclaimed, Varda's shortUlysse, was awarded theCésarfor Best Short Documentary. Varda also made a documentary about the actress Jane Birkin,Jane B par Agnès V. (1987). In the same year, she cowrote her featureKung-Fu Master(1987) with Birkin, who is the leading actress. Another major documentary isJacquot de Nantes(1991), which focuses on Demy, who died in 1990, as doesLes Demoiselles ont eu 25 ans(1992) andL'Univers de Jacques Demy(1993). Among her other feature-length documentaries areDaguerréotypes(1975),Murs Murs(1980),Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse(2000),Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse. . .deux ans après(2002), andCinévardaphoto(2004). Her filmLes Cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma(1995) was made for the centennial of cinema and features stars such as Michel Piccoli,Jean-Paul Belmondo,Fanny Ardant, Deneuve, and Bonnaire. In addition to directing feature-length films, she directed several shorts, includingO saisons,ô châteaux(1957),L'Opéra-Mouffe(1958),Du côté de la côté(1958),Salut les Cubains(1963),Elsa la Rose(1965),Oncle Yanco(1967),Black Panthers(1968),Réponse de femmes(1975),Plaisir d'amour en Iran(1976),Les Dites Caryatides(1984),7 P.,cuis de b. . .à saisir(1984),T'as de beaux escaliers tu sais(1986),Le lion volatile(2003), andYdessa,les ours et etc. (2004).

Varda wrote a semi-autobiographical work that encompasses her life and her work,Varda par Agnès(1994). She coined the termcinécriture, a combination of the French words for cinema and writing, to describe a style in filmmaking. Her recent filmLes Glaneurs et la glaneuse(2000) and its sequelLes Glaneurs et la glaneuse. . .deux ans après(2002) are both highly acclaimed documentaries dealing with issues ranging from the relationship between the past and the present, the urban and the rural. Both also foreground similarities between people regarded as normal by society and those whom society marginalizes. Her most recent films includeLe lion volatil(2003) andYdessa,les ours et etc. (2004).