EXB 172

WHAT’S ON — Exhibitions
9 decades in 9 dates
1938: Born in Ixelles, Belgium, to
a Greek father and a French
mother
1940: Moves to France, Sète
first, then Paris to
study photography
1955: La Pointe Courte,
her first film
1962: Cléo from 5 to 7,
her big breakthrough
1985: Vagabond wins Venice
Film Festival
1991: Jacquot de Nantes, a tribute
to her late husband, director
Jacques Demy
2003: Exhibits her potato installation
at Venice Biennale
2008: The Beaches of Agnès
2017: Receives an Honorary
Academy Award; Faces
Places shortlisted for
best documentary.
exchange. It’s very festive... Creating a social
link between the people and us, between
the people who are exposed and those who
watch, the people who got involved (cutting
the images, etc.) and passers-by... it was crucial
to us. And yes, it got festive. Those are
ephemeral moments. But it counts in one’s
life. Their lives. But also our lives.
There is a prevalence of cameras in our lives.
Don’t we live in an exhibitionist culture? When
I was young you needed a real camera to
take photos. And some skills. And time. Now
they’ve all become photographers. And everyone’s
become a video-artist – before people
would shoot one mini home-video once every
century to celebrate a birth or a marriage.
Now people just film everything all the time,
they do because they can. It’s easy. I think
people have fun with their own image more
and more. Me too!
Last November you were in LA to receive an
Academy Honorary Award for your life’s work.
Why now? Of course, Oscars are mostly
about commercial success, but inside the
Academy Award jury there are some serious
cinephiles and each year they pay tribute to
a different kind of cinema. This year they
chose me. It’s a vote – they probably thought
“Who’s done good stuff and never got an
award yet?” They came up with me. I was
very pleased.
You’re the first female director to get one.
Does this mark a new era? Let’s not overdo
it – the era of women becoming directors,
producers, operators... is already upon
us. Especially in France, we have a lot of
female filmmakers. The problem is when
it comes to recognition and power. That’s
where we still need progress. Women are
still not paid as much as men and don’t
have the same professional prospects. I
personally experimented with what we call
today ‘gender parity’ a long time ago. In my
film l’Une chante l’autre pas, I already had a
50/50 team.
By now you’ve pretty much received every award
a man or a woman could aspire to... Not so
much that, but I received much love and recognition
from audiences around the world.
I have fans all over, from Brazil to Korea.
When I go there people know me and give
me a lot of affection and sympathy. I’m aware
it’s a fringe minority, but everywhere people
who love cinema know me. I’m the queen of
the film fringe!
You’re known to be a little eccentric. When we
talked seven years ago, you’d just changed your
hairstyle to that bright two-colour bowl that’s
become your signature look. Before that you’d
showed up at Venice Biennale dressed like a
potato (to match your installation). Anything
since? Yes. I went to pick up my Oscar in my
pyjamas. In PJ pants and a PJ top. n
Musik für das
denkende Ohr
We don’t want to spoil anything, but the film
ends on an uneasy note and it involves fellow
New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard. Are you
still friends with Godard? It’s always been a bit
of a remote friendship. Last time we met was
when he was making Socialism and he wanted
to use a sequence from Les Plages d’Agnes,
which I let him borrow for his film… But we
don’t see each other much. He’s the loner
type. He chose this particular behaviour.
A copout? Yes, a copout, voilà. I sent the
DVD to him. I’m sure he watched it and was
amused by it, he’s got a sharp brain and a
solid sense of humour. I have no problem
with Jean-Luc. He’s got his life. I have mine.
Das Programm
der neuen Saison
ab 1. Juni auf
boulezsaal.de
JUNE 2018
19