The Cinema of Agnès Varda: Resistance and Eclecticism

Agnès Varda, a pioneer of the French New Wave, has been making radical films for over half a century. Many of these are considered by scholars, filmmakers, and audiences alike, as audacious, seminal, and unforgettable. This volume considers her production as a whole, revisiting overlooked films like Mur, Murs/Documenteur (1980-81), and connecting her cinema to recent installation work. This study demonstrates how Varda has resisted norms of representation and diktats of production. It also shows how she has elaborated a personal repertoire of images, characters, and settings, which all provide insight on their cultural and political contexts. The book thus offers new readings of this director's multifaceted rêveries, arguing that her work should be seen as an aesthetically influential and ethically-driven production where cinema is both a political and collaborative practice, and a synesthetic art form.

Author: Delphine Benezet
Publisher: Wallflower Press
Published: 05/20/2014
Pages: 208
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.60d
ISBN13: 9780231169752
ISBN10: 0231169752
BISAC Categories:
- Performing Arts | Film | Direction & Production
- Literary Criticism | General
- Performing Arts | Film | History & Criticism

About the Author
Delphine Bénézet teaches comparative literature in the School of Languages, Linguistics, and Film at Queen Mary, University of London.