Agnès Varda, influential French New Wave filmmaker, dies at 90

(Image credit: Valerie Macon / Getty Images)

published 29 March 2019

French director Agnès Varda has died at 90.

Varda, who has been called the mother of the French New Wave, died in her home on Friday following a battle with breast cancer, The New York Times reports.

Born in 1928, Varda made her directorial debut with 1955's La Pointe Courte, which Criterion points out was a particularly impressive first feature considering she says she had seen very few films prior to making it. Some of Varda's subsequent work includes Cleo From 5 to 7 and The Gleaners and I, the latter of which was voted the eighth greatest documentary of all time in Sight & Sound, notes The Hollywood Reporter.

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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