Under-acknowledged as a key figure of the French New Wave, masterful director Agnès Varda was more specifically part of its Left Bank movement, an innovative contingent which included Chris Marker, Alain Resnais and Marguerite Duras.

Cléo from 5 to 7, Varda’s second feature, is a sublime study of a pop singer played by Corinne Marchand who we accompany around Paris as she restlessly awaits the results of a critical medical test. In this time, we see the city from Cléo’s unique perspective, and bear witness to her fleeting encounters, often with women who, in contrast to our protagonist’s capricious behaviour, seem characterised by composure and resilience. (Notes by Alice Butler.)

This event is part of Beyond the Bechdel Test, our season throughout July focusing on the work of directors who have explored the complex ties between women that are an integral aspect of the films’ narratives, named after the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel who introduced the idea in her 1985 comic strip.