Future Varda: An Issue of: Camera Obscura

This special issue recognizes the work and legacy of AgnÈs Varda (1928–2019), a Belgian-born film director, screenwriter, photographer, and artist whose work was part of the French New Wave film movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In the wake of Varda’s passing in March 2019, contributors offer reflections on the continued relevance of her work. Until the end of her life, Varda was engaged with feminism, ethics, politics, and the representation of women in the film industry. Rather than focusing on Varda's most famous films, the contributors to this issue consider aspects of her oeuvre that have contemporary relevance and those that point to the future: films, art installations, and photographs that have received less scholarly attention; her political activism; her role as manager of her own production company; and her Instagram presence. By emphasizing these often-overlooked elements of Varda’s creative output, the contributors reveal the depth of her artistic legacy and demonstrate how vastly important and interconnected her entire body of work is.  Contributors Dominique Bluher, Nadine Boljkovac, Kelley Conway, Rebecca J. DeRoo, Sandy Flitterman-Lewis, Colleen Kennedy-Karpat, Homay King, Matt St. John, Emma Wilson