03-10-09: Varda runs towards Varick Street, leaving journalists and photographers in her wake.
Agnes Varda is not a shy violet, but she was dressed in purple from head-to-toe when I interviewed her during the “Rendez-Vous with French Cinema” series in March. She was self-posessed, recalcitrant, and somewhat belligerent. When a few of us went outside Film Forum to get photos of her, she dashed through traffic across Houston Street and then ran towards Varick, leaving us behind as she searched for the perfect backdrop (which didn’t exist).
03-10-09: Varda close up
I interviewed the director on her new film, The Beaches of Agnes, for a magazine and also for a newspaper feature. Did I mention that I think she’s the greatest? I wrote in my feature:
As a rare female filmmaker working since the 1950s, Varda has no counterpart in the United States. She says, “There were other women working in film in France when I began, but I was the first to fight for a new kind of cinema. I pushed other women to join. Now we have more. There are many directors and editors. Not only that, but mixing and sound ladies. I pushed them. I said, ‘Learn! Don’t say it’s difficult for women!’”
03-08-09: Costa Gavras at the Eden is West Q&A
I saw Eden is West (2009) on Sunday in the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema series at the IFC Center. It’s a fantastic Candide-like story of an illegal immigrant who has a series of odd adventures en route to Paris. It addresses contemporary issues within a very entertaining story, and deserves US distribution.
This Friday, Film Forum will debut a new print of Gavras’ incendiary political classic, Z (1969). Gavras made an appearance at a preview of that film on Sunday. Here is the podcast of his Q&A.
The IFC Center and Film Forum are just a few blocks from each other. He didn’t have far to travel on Sunday between screenings.
Syndicate this site