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The Portland International Film Festival turns 32 this year, and while much of the attention has been focused on the locally produced Coraline, a few other films caught our eyes.
They're both documentaries featuring artists whose lives have been defined by the creation and accumulation of images. They both raise questions about memory, family, and the power of place. And they both examine the art of autobiography. But their starting points are separated by an ocean and more than 60 years.
The Beaches of Agnès is the latest work by Agnès Varda, who has been called the grandmother of the New Wave. “If you open people, you'll find landscapes," she says at the beginning of her new film-as-essay. "If you open me, you'll find beaches.” Now in her 80th year, Varda is still proving true NYT critic Vicent Canby's line that "she lives in a present that is ever enriched by the accumulating past." We'll talk to her about her accumulated past and her rich present.
In a Dream, by the young filmmaker Jeremiah Zagar, is an intimate portrait of a family in crisis. Pieced together from interviews, home movies, live action, and animation, it tells the story of Zagar's father Isaiah, a tireless and troubled mosaic tile artist, on the verge of a breakdown. More broadly, it's a meditation on a life — and in many respects a family — held together by relentless artistic creation.
What are you interested in hearing from Agnès Varda or Jeremiah Zagar? If you've seen any of Varda's previous films — The Gleaners and I, for example — what have they meant to you? If you, too, make art out of your accumulated life, what have you learned about either?
Tagged as: artist · beach · film · memoir · ocean · visual art
Photo credit: Isaiah Zagar from In a Dream
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From Cheryl: I'm part of a group called Leave No Plastic Behind and we encourage people to try and live plastic-free for three months. During that time they create art using the plastic they accumulate in spite of themselves for a culminating art exhibit. Many people who try this experiment find it hard to ever throw anything away again and it has helped me to change my purchasing habits in a very radical way. I'd rather make things myself than buy it in a package!
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A question for Agnes Varda: Your films have such a wonderful improvisational feel. I wonder how much of it is truly improvised and how much you have planned out when you start? And if it is all fluid and unplanned, how does the editing process work? How do you find the thread of the film to bring it all together?
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Question for Agnes Varda: What did you learn from Jacques Demy as a filmmaker? In what ways did he influence your films? And how do you think you influenced his work?
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You guys sound very patronizing. You keep jumping and loudly adding your own words to your guest's answers.
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Good to know it came across that way to you. I was trying to repeat or clarify when I wasn't sure listeners could clearly hear her. I sometimes had trouble, even with headphones on. I kept thinking it would have been harder on a car radio.
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I came in near the end of the interview with Agnes Varda. Mdm. Varda expressed her view that the election of Obama gave a profound sense of hope (I am paraphrasing), and then she asked Emily Harris if she shared her view. Emily dodged her question, changing the subject, but Mdm. Varday called her on it and asked if she would answer the question. Emily seemed to be searching for what to say next, then responded with a general statement about how many Europeans and Americans shared her view. It was clear she would not, or could not, give her personal opinion.
This is a concrete example of a profound cultural difference between French and American journalism. We, Americans, believe in objectivity--that a journalist must remain objective and remove his or her personal views from the reporting. The French perspective is that objectivity is a myth, and that a journalist's duty is to reveal his or her bias up front. They see the attempt to create or maintain objectivity as a pretence.
I have a hunch that Mdm. Varda was amused by the American journalist on the telephone. In any case, this would be an interesting topic for a show--Is objectivity in reporting a myth?
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B Sparks - very insightful comments. I reflected a bit more in a blog post on this subject.
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I heard a small part of this broadcast and started wondering why you have not planned a program about the Cascade Festival of African Films going on now in Portland. It is one of only 3 continuing such festivals in the world and has been attracting big audiences for 19 years. To my way of thinking, much more significant than the festival you featured, which is similar to festivals going on in many cities. Also free. Linda
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