The film director Agnès Varda presented her film ‘Varda by Agnès’ at the Berlinale on February 13,2019.
Agnès Varda in her new documentary film ‘Varda by Agnès’ which premiered at the Berlinale 2019 © Cine Tamaris 2018
“Inspiration, création, partage” (Inspiration, creation, sharing). These are the three words which Agnès Varda, the film director from the French New Wave, carries with her every time she makes a film. In her new documentary film Varda par Agnès (Varda by Agnès), the film director tells her story as a filmmaker. It was presented out of competition at the 69 th Berlin Film Festival this week.
The film works like a masterclass where she recounts her filmography, her photography work and her work as a visual artist. The film, in fact, opens with the camera behind Varda as she sits in front of a theatre full of spectators with her name Agnès written on the back of her chair. As the title suggests, this is a very personal look at her own working life. The film is divided into two, first her analog period where she used celluloid, and second, her digital period which includes her work as a visual artist. This new film from the 90-year old director is very much about “partage.” This is her sharing with her audience her experience. For Varda, the films would not really exist if they weren’t shared, it is thus an important part of her process.
