Acclaimed French director Agnès Varda dies at 90
Acclaimed French director, photographer and artist Agnès Varda, regarded as the mother of the French New Wave, died on Friday at age 90, confirmed a report by Variety.
She died in her Paris residence due to complications from breast cancer.
"The filmmaker and artist Agnès Varda died from a cancer at her home in the night of March 29, 2019, surrounded by her family and friends," a statement issued by her family said.
The funeral is scheduled to be held next Tuesday.
In 2017, Varda became the first female director to receive an honorary Academy Award. /VCG Photo
Varda's directorial debut, "La Pointe Courte," a story about how a couple deals with their unhappy relationship in a small fishing town, was critically acclaimed as "the first film of the Nouvelle Vague" and "miraculous."
The film was seen as the precursor of French New Wave.
In 2015, she received an honorary Palme d'or at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2017, an honorary Oscar award was handed over to her. She was also the first female to receive both these accolades.
French director Agnes Varda in her younger days, April 16, 1970. /VCG Photo
Last month, Varda presented her last film, "Varda by Agnès" at the Berlinnale. During the press conference, she said: "My aim was to make a film different."
Emerging in the 1950s and 1960s, the French New Wave was a film movement when a group of filmmakers rejected the traditional rigid style of filmmaking, advocated director's fresh personal input, and innovation in shooting techniques. Unlike traditional ones, films in the movement were usually subjective and expressive of feelings.
Varda is also considered a feminist filmmaker, as her films often focused on female protagonists or presented a female cinematic voice.
At Berlinnale, she said, "I remain on the side of the workers, on the side of the women, and as you know I may (be) 'joyful feminist,' it has not stopped in my life, and in my experience, but I do my best with what I can do in my films."
(CGTN)
