If you’ve seen the films of Agnès Varda, you love Varda. If you haven’t heard of her before, you’re in great luck; what joy to be at the precipice of watching masterpiece after masterpiece. Even better, you can start what will be your new, Varda-filled life from the comfort of the Rio Cinema, a serious establishment of grandeur and pomp, celebrating its 50th anniversary with a months-long curation of films.
One of such films will be Faces Places, Varda’s 2017 documentary where she and collaborator JR tour France, taking photographs of locals and creating large-scale murals on nearby buildings, an effort in friendship and community. Programmed by Rio Cinema’s Varda Film Club, it will screen this Saturday along with a Q&A with Rosalie Varda, daughter of the late filmmaker. Can’t make the afternoon screening? In luck again – it’s followed by an evening showing of The Beaches of Angès (2008), this time with an introduction from Rosalie.
“It’s been a long love story between me and Varda,” says Bells Kennedy-Compston, founder of the film club. “Faces Places is really special for me because it was the first documentary of hers I saw, back when it was on Netflix while I was doing my BA. I completely fell in love with it. I rewatched it recently in preparation for the screening and it genuinely makes me emotional every time.”
Sat in the glorious Rio Cinema between screenings, complimentary popcorn in hand and gushing over our shared love for Varda, I feel I’m less interviewing Bells and more reliving my film school days. Maybe Bell feels the same.
“Studying film for as long as I have, you constantly see men taking credit for women’s work,” they tell me. “I genuinely believe Varda started the French New Wave with La Pointe Courte (1955), which we screened in January. She’s called the godmother of the French New Wave for a reason.”
Varda has an enormous filmography. From that early work all the way to Faces Places, one of her lasts (but not the last), she never stopped working. One might call her a machine, but I can’t imagine a word less representative of her films, so full of warmth and endlessly inventive as they are.
“There were so many moments where people thought she’d made her last film, and then she’d reinvent herself again,” Bells tells me. “She embraced digital cameras, new forms, playful structures. Meanwhile, directors like Godard often felt very fixed in their identities as auteurs. Varda always stayed curious and playful, and I think that’s why people feel such a strong kinship with her.” I’m always game for a dig at Godard.
But with a filmography so large, it can be daunting to dip your toe in. Varda Club wants to push you into the pool (lovingly). “French New Wave cinema can sound intimidating, and people often feel overwhelmed by the idea that they need loads of context beforehand,” Bells explains. “Even colleagues have told me they wanted to come but didn’t know anything about Varda, and I always say that’s completely fine.” Each screening begins with an introduction, providing historical context. Afterwards, they’re excited for the buzz of conversation that follows. “Cinema can feel so solitary sometimes, so it’s really special creating spaces where people stay afterwards and talk.”
I imagine Varda would have been quite happy having a home at the Rio, a cinema sharing in so many of her ideals. If you’re a long-term lover of her work, you’ll be comforted to know a screening is never too far away through Bells’ programming work. And if you’re yet to venture into her world, there’s no better place to do it.