The Beaches of Agnes at CALDOCFEST October 4, 2009

Presented by the SAN JOAQUIN FILM SOCIETY

www.SJIFF.org / www.caldocfest.org

California Documentary Festival - October 2-4, 2009

THE BEACHES OF AGNES
107 min | USA | 2009
Director: Agns Varda

- ABOUT THE FILM

SYNOPSIS

Four Stars: A great, loving, uplifting film. If you have not seen a single film by Agnes Varda, perhaps it is best if you start with The Beaches of Agnes.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Spellbinding visual beauty reminds you of the transporting power of pure cinema. It attests to the undiminished creativity of a woman who has led a charmed life surrounded by art and artists.
Stephen Holden, The New York Times

(Cinema Guild release) A reflection on art, life and the movies, The Beaches of Agnes is a magnificent new film from the great Agnes Varda, director of Cleo from 5 to 7 and The Gleaners and I, a richly cinematic self portrait that touches on everything from the feminist movement and the Black Panthers to the films of husband Jacques Demy and the birth of the French New Wave.

When one thinks of the major figures of postwar cinema, the name Agns Varda immediately springs to mind. Her body of work in both fiction and documentary is defined by a wealth of innovation and imagination. Irrepressible and enquiring, she is a force of nature, and even at eighty shows no signs of slowing down. Her new film is a reminder that there are few artists capable of such eloquence in cinema.

Varda takes beaches as her point of departure. Though she was not born near the ocean, she would travel to the seaside every Easter and summer during her childhood, and her memories of these trips act as a springboard for the film's meditation on her early life. She recalls her wartime exile to the coastal village of Ste as a period of endless fun and life jackets. While a young adult, Varda began her career as a photographer before raising a family with her husband, Jacques Demy (best known for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) and eventually turning to filmmaking. Returning to Ste over a decade after the end of the war, she used the locale and its fishermen as the backdrop for her remarkable first feature film, La Pointe Courte.

Varda weaves photographs, vintage footage, film clips, and present-day sequences into a memorable voyage through her life, during which she confronts the joy of creation and the pain of personal loss, death and aging. It is a singular trip played out against the exciting context of the postwar explosion of cultural expression in France. She knew everyone: her colleagues in the French New Wave, the Black Panthers in California and even Jim Morrison, who would visit when in Paris. Idiosyncratic, engaging and deeply moving, The Beaches of Agnes is a journey through an extraordinary artistic life

FESTIVAL HISTORY

Winner, Best Documentary, Csar Awards, 2009
Winner, Best Film, French Critics Union, 2009
Official Selection, Toronto Int'l Film Festival, 2008
Official Selection, Venice Film Festival, 2008

More info on film: www.sjiff.org/caldocfest/f-beaches.html

- ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

The San Joaquin Film Society's inaugural California Documentary Festival (CalDocFest): California Central Valley's first international focus on nonfiction cinema. The Festival is dedicated to promoting gifted documentary filmmakers and sharing knowledge and understanding of our world. Experience a vibrant and exhilarating roster of events, featuring new works, new directors, distinguished and award-winning American and international films, a spotlight on California documentarians, creative conversations with guest artists, and educational events. 15 magnificent films, (including significant premieres) along with the presence of directors and luminaries, will light up an exciting and memorable weekend in Stockton!

- ABOUT THE SJFS

The San Joaquin Film Society, Inc. (SJFS) is the benchmark cinema arts organization of Californias 400-mile Central Valley and home of the San Joaquin International Film Festival (SJIFF). The ;;;Society celebrates cinema arts, multi-cultural appreciation, and global outreach through year-round productions of festivals and educational programs. For 2009, with a home base in Stockton, California, the Society launched an ambitious and exhilarating year-round program, which includes: The flagship 2nd San Joaquin International Film Festival (May 14 to 23), San Joaquin Children's Film Festival (January 16 to 18), California Documentary Festival (October 2 to 4), year-round world cinema series and mini-festivals (Cinema Italia, Jewish Cinema Day, French Cinema Day, Latino Cinema Day), social events and galas, special screenings, a membership program, and educational events. SJFS is dedicated to celebrating the artistry, diversity, and power of filmmaking; and to bringing the world of cinema to the culturally-rich, Valley audiences and beyond.

Official Website: www.sjiff.org

Official Website: http://www.sjiff.org/caldocfest