A Woman, the Embodiment of Creativity
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the passing of Agnès Varda, the "Grandmother of the New Waves" in French cinema. The Beijing Film Panorama of the 14th Beijing International Film Festival honored this legendary director by presenting the documentary Viva Varda! in the "HOMAGE-Commemoration" section. Upon the announcement of the screening schedule, Viva Varda! garnered significant attention, attracting numerous fans influenced by Varda to revisit the cinema this spring and witness once again the embodiment of creativity on the big screen.
Poster for Viva Varda!
Viva Varda! is a 2023 work by French director Pierre-Henri Gibert and represents the first filmed record of Varda created by someone else. Utilizing previously undisclosed archives and valuable interviews, Gibert innovatively crafted this documentary, offering viewers a fresh perspective on Varda's creative journey and life.
Throughout Varda's extraordinary artistic career, she never ceased her exploration of "finding beauty in impossible places." Starting with photography and then, in 1954, this film prodigy - who had only seen five movies and had no professional training—began making films, a pursuit that continued until her passing. Varda often appeared in her own works, shaping her eclectic and unique filmmaking style. She was a documentarian, a storyteller, and a creator, the one who controlled the camera and chose the frames; at the same time, she was also the subject being filmed, exposing herself to the lens and entrusting herself to the audience. In the book Agnès Varda: Interviews, Varda described this fascinating duality: "I feel a little pleasure in being both the one who films and the one who is filmed... It's like explaining our whole life - we want to be part of it, we want to be the subject, but we also want to be the object, we want it all. I feel all the joy."
Agnès Varda at work
In the documentary Viva Varda!, Varda steps back into the role of the object, becoming the subject of narration and presentation. She exists in the words of others, collaged and edited together by another creator to form the final product. This work about Varda comprehensively chronicles her directorial career, featuring her films and the important figures who appear within them. However, it is not a work created by Varda herself. This time, she relinquishes control, allowing others to discuss their perceptions of her. The documentary features interviews with actors who have collaborated with Varda, such as Jane Birkin from Jane B. par Agnès V. and Sandrine Bonnaire from Without Roof or Law; the renowned French director and fellow "New Wave" representative Jean-Luc Godard; as well as Varda's closest family members. From their narratives, we glimpse a side of Varda that transcends adjectives like lively, loving, and tolerant. She remains vibrant and filled with creative passion, possessed of an insatiable curiosity. Yet, in stark contrast to her iconic, charming mushroom-cut hairstyle, descriptions from her loved ones reveal a more radical, stubborn, authoritarian, and controlling side. The term "contradiction" is a recurring theme throughout Varda's works, traceable and recognizable in her films, where she repeatedly explores the relationships between the public and private, subjectivity and universality. This obsession with "contradiction" and her intense curiosity become tangible and real in Viva Varda!. Just as these traits converge within Varda herself, they are continuously infused into her cinematic creations.
Agnès Varda and her family
After its release in 2023, Viva Varda! was nominated for the Best Documentary Award (The Golden Eye) at the Cannes International Film Festival and screened in a cinema named "Salle Agnès Varda". This year, the 14th Beijing International Film Festival continues the tribute by screening Viva Varda!, gathering love and respect for Varda from film enthusiasts worldwide. However, as her fans, this "commemoration" may not be entirely appropriate. In Agnès Varda: Interviews, Varda expressed her belief that commemorative gestures are dangerous, and that life and emotions are more important than monuments. So, as we revisit Viva Varda! this time, let's not speak of commemoration, but simply approach and understand.
Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House has recently released Agnès Varda: Interviews, a collection of 21 interviews conducted between 1962 and 2008, covering the entire trajectory of her filmmaking career and numerous works. The Beijing International Film Festival will give away two copies of Agnès Varda: Interviews to film enthusiasts. As you revisit Viva Varda!, delve into these interviews and discover the vast beach that belongs to Varda.
