Agnès Varda

Mother of French New Wave cinema who redefined feminist filmmaking

Agnès Varda (1928–2019) shattered cinematic conventions for six decades as the only female director of the French New Wave. Her 1955 debut La Pointe Courte predated Godard's Breathless by four years, yet she was initially excluded from the 'boys' club' of auteur theory.

From Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962) to final documentary Varda by Agnès (2019), she pioneered:

• Feminist narratives centered on women's inner lives
• Hybrid docu-fiction techniques
• Installation art incorporating film

At 80, she became the oldest Oscar-nominated director for Faces Places (2017). Varda's 'gleaning' philosophy – finding beauty in discarded people/objects – permeates her work. As she stated: I don't want to show things, but to give people the desire to see.

Her radical legacy: Proving women could write, direct, and produce deeply personal cinema without compromise. The Guardian noted: Varda didn't break the glass ceiling – she ignored its existence.