Google Doodle Remembers Agnès Varda, the Female Trailblazer of the French New Wave

Today’s Google Doodle celebrates the legacy of French film director and screenwriter Agnès Varda. The European Film Academy presented her with an honorary Lifetime Achievement Award for her work on this day in 2014.

The doodle shows both a younger and older version of Varda each holding a different kind of camera, as if capturing the essence of one another, among the famed logo.

Born on May 30, 1928 in Brussels, Varda moved to France with her family at 12 years old. She later studied art history and photography, which lead her to a career taking pictures for magazines and the Théâtre National Populaire.

It was Varda’s experience with photography that inspired her venture into the cinema. Her first film La Pointe Courte, which offers a fictional narrative with documentary-style scenes, was released in 1955. It was her freedom from industry standards that allowed her to help establish the French New Wave—a movement characterized by its experimentation and ultimate rejection of traditional filmmaking. A trailblazer and self-described feminist, Varda was the only woman in the movement.

Throughout her career, Varda directed over 40 short, feature, and documentary films. Among the most notable films are  Cleo from 5 to 7, Vagabond, and The Gleaners and I. Throughout her work, she featured many female-driven narratives, including women’s right to choose in the 1977 film L’Une chante, l’autre pas.

These efforts extended beyond the screen, as she signed the Manifesto of the 343, which publicly acknowledged that those who had signed had previously had abortions and pushed legalization among governing bodies.

Varda continued experimenting with new formats throughout her lifetime, expanding to include worldwide video and immersive art installations in 2003.

She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a Lumières Award and an Oscar nomination for Visages Villages (Faces Places), a César Award for Les Plages d’Agnès (The Beaches of Agnés), a Golden Lion for Sans toit ni loi (Vagabond), and an honorary Oscar for her lifetime achievements in cinema.

Varda died from cancer on March 29, 2019 in Paris, at 90 years old. She left behind two children, daughter Rosalie Varda and son Mathieu Demy.

Previous Google doodles have paid homage to such prolific artists as Rosa Bonheur, Paula Modersohn-Becker, and Pacita Abad. They have also marked notable dates, events, and holidays.