Agnès Varda

After some wandering, she settled in Paris in 1947, where she practiced photography before turning to filmmaking. Her unique style, which melded the poetic and the real, made her a pioneer and an iconic figure of New Wave cinema. Her films La Pointe Courte (1955) and Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962) put her name on the map. Her film Ulysse (1984) was awarded the César for Best Documentary Short, and Vagabond, Sans Toit ni Loi (1985) won a Golden Lion at La Mostra (Venice International Film Festival). In 1991, she created Jacquot de Nantes as an homage to her partner, director Jacques Demy. In the 2000s, Varda began experimenting with art, ranging from video to installation art, even as she continued making meaningful films. Her last exhibition was held at Chaumont-sur-Loire, where she presented her series Trois Pièces sur Cour, which included La Serre du Bonheur (2018), A Deux Mains and L'Arbre de Nini (2019).

In 2006, Varda collaborated with the Fondation Cartier for the exhibition L'Île et Elle. The exhibition presented her installations and videos that had been inspired by the Île de Noirmoutier. Her film Homage to Zgougou the Cat (2006) was shown on perpetual replay in La Cabane du Chat, an installation set up in the garden of the Fondation Cartier on Boulevard Raspail, since her commission for the exhibition Le Grand Orchestre des Animaux (2016).