Agnès Varda: The Gleaners and I

Agnès Varda, the only female director of the French New-Wave is often considered an auteur par excellence not only because she wrote, produced, directed, distributed and acted in her own films, but especially for the profound self-reflexivity of her cinematography and narrative voice. When questioned about her unique ability to capture with the same intensity both major historical events and the everyday life of her neighborhood, she replied “films are more than just poetry, they are full-on spectacles.” Studying and researching Varda’s cinema today pays tribute to the woman whose work challenged mainstream worldviews and continues to inspire filmmakers to create films that transform what is invisible into the unforgettable. 

Speaker Bio: 

Leonard Cortana (Guadeloupe/France) is a P.hD Candidate at the Cinema Studies Department at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and works as an Adjunct Instructor in International and French Film History. He is also a filmmaker currently screening a short documentary about activist movements spreading the intersectional legacy of Afro-Brazilian activist and politician Marielle Franco in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cortana is a 2019/2020 fellow at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University researching collaborative activism with youth.  

His latest documentary: Marielle's Legacy Will Not Die investigates the March 2018 murder of Afro-Brazilian Councilwoman and activist Marielle Franco. It follows artists and activists in Rio de Janeiro who use the 2019 Carnival as a call for justice for Marielle. In the midst of social protest and rising fear over the extremist policies of the new government, the city becomes an active site of resistance inspired by her legacy. Trailer: https://vimeo.com/370884641