“I’m playing the role of a little old lady, pleasantly plump and talkative and telling her life story. And yet it’s others I’m interested in, others I like to film. Others who intrigue me, motivate me, make me ask questions, disconcert me, fascinate me. This time, to talk about myself, I thought, ‘If we opened people up, we’d find landscapes.’ If we opened me up, we’d find beaches.” Agnes Varda, The Beaches of Agnes

At the age of 80, director Agnes Varda embarked on a freewheeling journey documenting her life. In clever, free associative set pieces, she joyfully explores her past, her friendships, and her home turf on the Rue Daguerre in Paris. “Uninhibited about sex, generous in her affections, worldly-wise, blending tender recollections with self- deprecating antics, Varda, free from fear and shame, turns her tale of a life lived in art into a work of art in its own right, and one of her best—a rapturous tribute to life itself.” Richard Brody, The New Yorker (2008, 110 min., in French with English subtitles)