Varda Shorts Program 4: Selected by Rosalie Varda

Introduction by Rosalie Varda

This program combines four shorts selected and to be presented in person by Varda’s producer and daughter, Rosalie Varda, including Diary of a Pregnant Woman, Black Panthers, Uncle Yanco, and Women Reply, Our Bodies, Our Sex.

Diary of a Pregnant Woman / L’opéra-mouffe
Agnès Varda, France, 1958, 16m
French with English subtitles
A playful anxiety arises in Varda’s impressionistic depiction of pregnancy, which free-associates between post-surrealist vignettes and the everyday hubbub of her Parisian neighborhood.

Black Panthers
Agnès Varda, France/USA, 1968, 31m
French with English subtitles
One of Varda’s most transformative encounters during her 1968 L.A. journey was with the Black Panthers at the height of their influence and fame. Her casual, open-air portrait of the group, centered on a bustling “Free Huey” rally in Oakland, is more densely packed with information than many of her other documentaries, but it’s made with no less delicacy, grace, and political urgency. 

Uncle Yanco / Oncle Yanco
Agnès Varda, USA/France, 1967, 18m
English and French with English subtitles
The first movie Varda made in America was, surprisingly, of a family reunion. This breezy, sun-dappled portrait of her elderly Greek uncle, a painter who transformed his northern California houseboat into a mecca for L.A.’s young, beautiful, and free-spirited, was Varda’s first prolonged exposure to the West Coast counterculture that would deeply inspire her.

Women Reply: Our Bodies, Our Sex / Réponse de femmes: Notre corps, notre sexe 
Agnès Varda, France, 1975, 8m
French with English subtitles
In 1975, a television station gave seven female filmmakers seven minutes to answer the question “What does it mean to be a woman?” Varda responded with this frank assemblage, examining how women are taking control over their bodies and lives.

Playing as part of Varda: A Retrospective, December 20-January 6. See showtimes & get tickets.