Agnès Varda is a filmmaker and photographer. She is a Professor of Film and Documentaries at the European Graduate School. She studied at the École du Louvre with a focus on art history and photography at the École des Beaux-Arts. She then went on to work as a photographer at the Théâtre National Populaire in Paris.
Varda’s first feature-length film, La Pointe Courte (1954), was an early anticipation of the French New Wave and was well-received by the French cinema community. Her other major films include Cleo From 5 to 7 (1962), Vagabond (1985), The Gleaners & I (2000), and The Beaches of Agnès (2008), among others.
Varda received the 2002 French Academy prize, Prix René Clair, for her overall cinematographic work. In 2009, she was given the highest French decoration: the National Order of the Legion of Honour. Varda is the author of several books and a contributor to LEAP magazine.
