[Frameworks] Agnes Varda

[Dominic Angerame]

Thanks Eric, thought this was the appropriate time to write something about it.

D

> On Apr 1, 2019, at 12:34 PM, Eric Theise <erictheise at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I'm so glad you posted the story about walking into that "video store", Dominic, I remember hearing you tell it elsewhere (BAMPFA?) and am glad to see it "in print".
> 
> 
> On Mon, Apr 1, 2019 at 12:29 PM Dominic Angerame <dominic.angerame at gmail.com <mailto:dominic.angerame at gmail.com>> wrote:
> I am so glad that I had the chance to meet and talk with Agnes Varda during my lifetime. The first time I met her was when she presented “Vagabond" at the World Theatre in Chinatown, San Francisco,  located around the corner from my apartment. It was presented as part of a tribute by the San Francisco International Film Festival and the film was being premiered. I approached her after the screening in  my role of Executive Director for Canyon Cinema. I wanted to have Canyon distribute her prints since they seemed almost impossible to locate for rental at that time. She refused because she wanted Canyon Cinema to pay for the prints. Alas Canyon had no policy or funds to purchase prints for distribution. As such an opportunity to distribute her films disappeared.
> 
> The second time I met her was in Paris. My film "In the Course of Human Events" was being shown as part of an art show curated by Paul Virilio called "Ce Que Arrive". The exhibition focused on artwork and films that dealt with disasters. Since my film " In the Course of Human Events” centered around images of the destruction of a freeway that was damaged by the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. . Also as part of the exhibition was Bruce Conner’s “Crossroads" and "Boston Fire" by Peter Hutton and other experimental filmmakers. The salon called Cafe de Penquin is located on Rue Deguerre. This cafe was a meeting place where Paul Virilio would host the filmmakers and curator of “Ce Qui Arrive” for lunch and conversation.  I had with Paul Virilio in French about the role of artists in today’s society. Virilio mentioned that the artists were the first victims in society. After lunch and coffee I took a walk down the avenue to explore. Rue Deguerre was located at the back end of the Montparnasse Cemetery and quite unique and scenic.
> 
> I walked past a store front that had its windows entirely covered with posters of Agnes Vardas’ films. At first I thought it was a video store. I walked in and there was Agnes Varda sitting behind a flatbat editor with one of her assistants. I had actually walked into Varda’s studio, it was not a video store.After  I enter she walked over to the door and locked it. She remembered my original meeting with her here in San Francisco. She then invited me to a screening room in the back of the large studio. She told me to sit down an then Agnes ask if I would like to view her new film, a sequel to The Gleaners and I.  down She excused herself and came back with a bottle of wine for me to enjoy as I watched the film. The film was great and after the the private screening I left and thank her profusely for her kindness.
> 
> The other time I had the chance to meet Agnes Varda was at the Viennale Film Festival in Austria where I was honored to have a complete retrospective of every film I had made. Once more she was smiling, talkative and I reminded her of our previous meeting. She had remembered that incident with fondness and was impressed on my boldness of entering her private studio.
> 
> Dominic Angerame
> 
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