Film pioneer - Agnès Varda: The radical "grandmother of the French New Wave"
Agnès Varda was also referred to as the "grandmother of the nouvelle vague" - a decorative title that initially rather amused the filmmaker, as she said in an interview with the Guardian in 2018: "I thought it was funny because I was only 30 years old". It is undisputed that Varda, who was born in Belgium in 1928 to a French mother and a Greek father, became one of the defining figures of French film.
She owed her nickname to her first film as a director, "La Pointe Courte" from 1955. According to critics, the film featured an unpolished and innovative narrative style and is now regarded as the forerunner of the Nouvelle Vague (New Wave) movement, of which Agnès was chosen as the grandmother. Before her debut, Varda worked as a photographer and also studied art history.
She always remained true to her radical approach, as she told the Guardian: "When I was young, a new way of writing was invented - by James Joyce, Hemingway, Faulkner. And I thought to myself, we have to find a structure for cinema. I fought for radical cinema and continued to do so throughout my life." She cited reality as the greatest inspiration for her work and also enjoyed making films with "simple people".
Agnès Varda died in 2019 at the age of 90
Agnès Varda was active as a filmmaker for 60 years, with other works including "Cleo - Mittwoch zwischen 5 und 7" and "Vogelfrei". She has received numerous awards. In 2018, she was crowned with the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Her documentary "Varda bei Agnès" screened out of competition at the 2019 Berlinale, where she received the Berlinale Camera Honorary Award. On March 29 of the same year, Agnès Varda died of cancer in Paris at the age of 90. Martin Scorsese, himself a legendary director, posthumously called her "one of the goddesses" of the film world.
Agnès Varda was married to French actor Jacques Demy from 1962 until his death in 1990. The couple had a son together, and Varda also brought a daughter from a previous relationship into the marriage.
In the gallery: She received the European Film Award for Best Actress for "Anatomy of a Case". Sandra Hüller also has her hopes up at the Golden Globes. An overview of the diversity of her work.
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Agnès Varda's groundbreaking film "La Pointe Courte" from 1955, as her directorial debut, earned her the title of "grande dame" of the Nouvelle Vague (New Wave) movement and positioned her as a pioneer in the field of entertainment. At the 2019 Berlinale, her documentary "Varda by Agnès" was screened out of competition and she was awarded the Berlinale Camera Honorary Award, celebrating her significant contributions to the entertainment industry.
Source: www.stern.de
