Agnes Varda has dealt with issues of feminism through her directorial ventures. Read more about the director, her net worth, ‘Faces Places’ and other facts.
A brief about Agnes Varda
Agnes Varda is a French Film director born in 1928 in Belgium. She has spent most of her working life in France. Her photographs, art installations and films mainly focus on documentary realism, feminism and social commentary with a distinctive experimental style. Her work has often been cited as central to the development of the French New Wave film movement. Agnes Varda brought about a revolution in the French cinema by using distint location shooting and by casting non-professional actors during the 1950’s. Varda’s birth name was Arlette Varda. She was the daughter of Christiane and Eugene Jean Varda who was an engineer. Her father was a Greek refugee from Asia and her mother was French. She has four siblings. She legally changed her name to Agnes when she crossed 18. She left Belgium in 1940 and fled to Sete, France where she studied photography and art history at the Ecole Des Beaux-Arts. She later went on to work for the Theatre National Populaire as a photographer. Varda is a significant figure in modern French cinema. Her career pre-dates the start of the Nouvelle vague known as the French New Wave, and her film, ‘La Pointe Courte’ contains many elements specific to that movement. She once said in an interview that she wants to make films related to her time rather than focusing on traditions or classical standards. In 2013, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art honored Agnes Varda by holding her first U.S. exhibition called the “Agnes Varda in Californialand.” There was a sculptural installation, several photographs, and short films, and was inspired by time she spent in Los Angeles in the 1960s. The French New wave was broken into two subgroups called the Cahiers du Cinema group and the Left Bank Cinema group. As her work predates the French New Wave, her films belonged more precisely to the Rive Gauche (Left Bank) cinema movement. Her work was often considered feminist because she used to use female protagonists more and used to create a female cinematic voice. Her protagonists used to be rejected or marginalized members of the society. She used to create her own signature style by using the camera ‘as a pen’, a trait that was common amongst many other French New Wave directors. Her style of making films was described as ‘cinecriture’ a word coined by merging ‘writing’ and ‘cinema’ in French. She firmly believes that rather than segregating the cinematographer, screenwriter, director, etc, all should be working together simultaneously to create a film and all elements should together contribute to the message of the film. Agnes Varda met her husband in 1958, while living in Paris. Jacques Demy, also a French actor and director moved in with Varda together in 1959. They married and remained together until his death in 1990. Agnes Varda has two children – daughter, Rosalie Varda-Demy with Antoine Bourseiller and son, Mathieu with Jacques Demy. Agnes Varda is also the cousin of Jean Varda. In 1971, Varda along with 343 other women signed the Manifesto admitting that she had had an abortion despite the fact that it was illegal in France at that time. The reason for the Manifesto was to ask them to make it legal.
Notable films of the director
The following is a brief about her most notable films: * La Pointe Courte After spending some time filming the small French fishing town of La Pointe Courte for a very ill friend who could no longer visit on his own, Varda decided to shoot a feature film of her own and thus in 1954, ‘La Pointe Courte’ was born which was also Varda’s first film. The film was about an unhappy couple working through their relationship in a small fishing town. The film is a stylistic precursor to the French New Wave. * Cleo from 5 to 7 Cleo from 5 to 7 is a movie about a pop singer who awaits the results of a recent biopsy through two extraordinary hours. At first glance, the film is about a woman coming to terms with her mortality, which is a common auteurist trait for Agnès Varda. * Vagabond In 1984, Varda directed Sans toit ni loi called Vagabond in English, which is a drama about the death of a young female drifter named Mona. The death is investigated by an unseen and unheard interviewer who focuses on the people who have last seen her. Varda uses non linear techniques in the film and the film is divided into 47 episodes. * The Gleaners and I The Gleaners and I, is a documentary made in 2000 that focuses on Varda’s interactions with gleaners who live in the French countryside, but also includes subjects who create art through recycled material, as well as an interview with psychoanalyst Jean Laplanche. * Faces Places Faces Places is a 2017 French documentary film directed by Varda and JR. It was screened out of competition at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival where it won the L’Œil d’or award. * The Beaches of Agnes The Beaches of Agnes is a french documentary directed by Agnes Varda in 2008. The film is an autobiographical essay where Varda revisits places from her past, reminisces about life and celebrates her 80th birthday on camera.
Net worth of Agnes Varda
The net worth of Agnes Varda is estimated to be around $2 million.
Agnes Varda was nominated for the Best Documentary Feature for her film, ‘Faces Places’ in Oscar 2018. She was also the oldest nominee in Oscar history. She seemed unconcerned at the honor at the Oscar 2018 event. The high spirited lady feels young and energized even at this age and her passion for film making continues.
