Agnès Varda, mother of French New Wave cinema, dead aged 90

CNN — French film director Agnès Varda – an icon of feminist cinema and the sole female director to emerge from the French New Wave of the 1960s – has died at the age of 90, her family has confirmed. “The director and artist Agnès Varda died at her home on the night of Thursday of complications from cancer,” her family said in a statement to the AFP news agency. “She was surrounded by her family and friends.” Varda came to fame in the 1960s, when she became known as the mother of the French New Wave, directing celebrated films including “Cléo from 5 to 7,” “Happiness” and “The Creatures.” In a career spanning six decades, she made 24 feature films and worked right until her death, premiering her latest autobiographical documentary, “Varda by Agnès,” at the Berlin International Film Festival in February. Micheline PELLETIER/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images Daniella Shreir, co-founder and editor of the feminist film journal Another Gaze, said Varda will be “remembered for her representation of overlooked social movements, communities and cultures.” Her 1985 film “Vagabond,” for which she won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, recounts the story of a young homeless woman as she wanders through the French countryside. pic.twitter.com/cpquJXJtwK — Festival de Cannes March 29, 2019 Cannes Film Festival expressed its “immense sadness” at Varda’s death.