17 feb 2023 MK2 FILMS LAUNCHES SALES ON NEW AGNÈS VARDA DOC

In addition to its recent previous announcement on Xavier Legrand’s second feature The Successor, Paris-based mk2 films will also be launching sales in Berlin on a new documentary about the iconic “Mother of the New Wave”.

Iconoclastic instigator of the New Wave, Agnès Varda is the subject of a new documentary, VIVA VARDA! – the first ever portrait of the renowned pioneering female filmmaker not made by Varda herself. An instantly recognisable figure, who we have come to know through her own lens, Agnès Varda will be celebrated in Fall 2023 by the French Cinémathèque.

VIVA VARDA! reveals a brand-new perspective on the influential filmmaker’s life and work, with never-before-seen archive footage and illuminating interviews with her friends, family, and collaborators, including Rosalie Varda, Mathieu Demy, Sandrine Bonnaire, Atom Egoyan, Patricia Mazuy, Audrey Diwan, Jonathan Romney and many more.

mk2 films are co-selling with Cinétévé Sales the 52’ and 60’ documentary by Pierre-Henri Gibert co-produced by Ciné-Tamaris, Cinétévé and ARTE.

“With the upcoming homage at the French Cinémathèque, I felt like the time was right to start searching for the first time in our archives at rue Daguerre and dig out some lost and never-before-seen images Agnès shot for various projects”, says Rosalie Varda, co-producer of the film. “What we found is a rich and fascinating material which would be dear to everyone who loved Agnès and her art. We also asked those who were closest to Agnès to share personal memories about her. I hope the result will inspire new generations of filmmakers”.

In Berlin, mk2 films’s vast library of 800 films will also be celebrated with the screening in Berlinale Classics of Charles Chaplin’s A WOMAN OF PARIS, on the centennial of the film. Chaplin’s societal drama about two lovers takes place in the French capital during the Roaring Twenties, and influenced generations of filmmakers, from Ernst Lubitsch to Martin Scorsese. The restored 4K master features a new soundtrack with a reconstruction of Chaplin’s score orchestration by Timothy Brock and previously unheard compositions by Chaplin. mk2 films’ library boasts a number of titles from cinema’s formative silent era, including Chaplin’s classic THE GOLD RUSH which will have its 100th anniversary in 2025.

“We are deeply honoured by this official selection of Charles Chaplin’s influential feature”, comments Frédérique Rouault, Head of Collections at mk2 films. “This selection highlights the attention we give to our catalogue of films, by consistently undertaking restorations of major films in cinema history and promoting them in creative ways”. She continues: “VIVA VARDA! will be an essential addition to the Agnès Varda collection we represent worldwide. With the recent acquisitions of the Raoul Peck and Marcel Pagnol catalogues, this clearly shows how alive classic films are at mk2.”

Read more on Variety.