Cold Open · Essay · sep 10, 2025

Why Agnès Varda Is a Cinema Icon

Coinciding with the Viva Varda retrospective at LAB111, Elliot and Kiriko celebrate the life and cinema of Agnes Varda — the filmmaker who refused every category the industry tried to put her in, from the French New Wave to documentary cinema to video art. They discuss why Varda is Kiriko's ultimate cinematic hero, how her films mirror the warmth, curiosity, and humour of the woman herself, and why her approach to looking at the world — camera in hand, genuinely interested in whoever is in front of her — remains the most radical thing in cinema.

By Kiriko Mechanicus

Film Journalist · Celebrating Cinema

Coinciding with our Viva Varda retrospective now playing at LAB111 in Amsterdam, Elliot and Kiriko celebrate the life and cinema of French filmmaker and feminist icon Agnès Varda. They discuss why Varda is Kiriko’s ultimate cinematic hero and how her films mirror the warmth, curiosity, and humour of the woman herself.

Varda’s approach to filmmaking is more than craft, it’s a way of seeing the world, a playful blueprint for us all to live by. Together, they unpack some of her classics and imagine how they might spend a single unforgettable day with Agnès Varda.

Get tickets to ⁠Viva Varda: The Films of Agnès Varda⁠ @ LAB111

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