Agnès Varda: From Here to There
Description
Full 225-minute program screened on April 26 and May 4; for April 28 screening, one episode will be screened daily, April 28-May 2, at 12:30.
Armed with her inimitable insight and ability to find beauty where one least expects it, director Agnès Varda travels to various far-flung locales in this five-part miniseries originally made for French television. Invited to a variety of cinematheques and museums to present her work, she uses the opportunities to look up old friends, interview filmmakers who interest her or discover new artists working in their chosen mediums. In Berlin, she searches for bears and Beuys sculptures; in Portugal, she photographs the country’s famous azulejo ceramics and gets the 102-year-old director Manoel de Oliveira to do a wonderful Chaplin imitation; and in Venice, she takes an overview of artists represented in the Biennale. But these examples only scratch the surface of the wide-ranging travels and investigations she undertakes over the course of the program. Throughout, Varda’s extraordinary empathy, curiosity and playfulness make numerous puckish and interesting connections between her vast points of interest. After all, this is someone who is good friends with Red Shoe Diaries creator Zalman King and the intellectually rigorous filmmaker Chris Marker, both of whom are visited here. “When you look closely, things become very beautiful,” Varda exclaims in voiceover at one point, and viewers of Agnès Varda: From Here to There will be exceedingly grateful to have her as their tour guide. —Rod Armstrong
Agnès Varda has been making films for over 50 years, beginning with La Pointe Courte in 1955, and is often referred to as a primogenitor of the French New Wave. She is responsible for many beloved classics, including Vagabond (SFIFF 1986), The Gleaners and I (SFIFF 2001) and The Beaches of Agnès (2008). Speaking about her style of filmmaking with The Guardian in 2006, she stated, “I don’t believe in inspiration that arrives like a bolt from the blue—if it doesn’t also arise from your body and your immediate lived experience. That’s why I always refer to ‘subjective documentary.’ It seems to me that the more motivated I am by what I film, the more objectively I film.”
Film Details
Language French
Original Language Title Agnès de ci de là Varda
Year 2011
Runtime 225
Country France
Director Agnès Varda
Producer Roslie Varda, Anita Benoliel, Cecilia Rose, Stéphanie Scanvic, Jean-Noël Félix
Editor Johan Boulanger, Jean-Baptiste Morin
Cinematographer Agnès Varda
Cast Agnès Varda
Print Source The Cinema Guild/ gswindoll@cinemaguild.com