Agnès Godard (born 28 May 1951) is a French

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the c ...

. She is most famous for her long-running collaboration with filmmaker

Claire Denis Claire Denis (; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film '' Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s, as well as of all time. Other acclaimed works include '' Trouble E ...

. For her work, she has won a

César Award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ce ...

Life and career

Godard originally studied journalism, but switched to film after several years, graduating from La Femis (then known as IDHEC) in 1980. Her first project as a cinematographer was

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Doc ...

' 50-minute ''

Room 666 ''Room 666'' (french: Chambre 666) is a 1982 documentary film directed by German film director Wim Wenders. During the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, Wenders set up a static camera in room 666 of the Hotel Martinez and provided selected film directo ...

'', made for television. There she met Claire Denis, who was working as Wenders'

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have t ...

.village voice > film > Agnes Godard's Candid Camera by Elisabeth Vincentelli
Godard spent much of the 1980s working as an assistant camera operator or

focus puller A focus puller or first assistant camera (1st AC) is a member of a film crew's camera department whose primary responsibility is to maintain the camera lens's optical focus on whatever subject or action is being filmed. "Pulling focus" refers to ...

on films by Wenders,

Joseph Losey Joseph Walton Losey III (; January 14, 1909 – June 22, 1984) was an American theatre and film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Wisconsin, he studied in Germany with Bertolt Brecht and then returned to the United States. Blacklisted ...

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are t ...

and

Alain Resnais Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included ...

. She also served as director of photography on a short film directed by legendary cinematographer

Henri Alekan Henri Alekan (10 February 1909, Paris – 15 June 2001, Auxerre, Bourgogne) was a French cinematographer. Life Alekan was born in Montmartre in 1909. At the age of sixteen he and his brother became travelling puppeteers. A little later he ...

. Her first collaboration with Denis was the director's debut feature, '' Chocolat'', where she served as the camera operator; she has been Denis' regular cinematographer since 1990, when the two worked together on a documentary about

Nouvelle Vague French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

filmmaker

Jacques Rivette Jacques Rivette (; 1 March 1928 – 29 January 2016) was a French film director and film critic most commonly associated with the French New Wave and the film magazine ''Cahiers du Cinéma''. He made twenty-nine films, including '' L'amour fo ...

made for the French television series ''Cinema, de Notre Temps''.

Filmography

*'' Let the Sunshine In'' (2017) *'' The Falling'' (2015) *'' Paris Follies'' (2014) *''

The Amazing Catfish ''The Amazing Catfish'' ( es, Los insólitos peces gato) is a Mexican comedy-drama film, written and directed by Claudia Sainte-Luce. The film stars Ximena Ayala as Claudia, a young woman who becomes a caretaker for Martha (Lisa Owen), an older ...

'' (2014) *'' Bastards'' (2013) *''

Sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

'' (2012) *'' Où va la nuit'' (2011) *'' Simon Werner a Disparu'' (2010) *''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it ...

'' (2008) *''

35 rhums ''35 Shots of Rum'' (french: 35 Rhums) is a 2008 drama film directed by Claire Denis. It stars Alex Descas, Mati Diop, Nicole Dogue, and Grégoire Colin. It tells the story of a father-daughter relationship complicated by the arrival of an attra ...

'' (2008) *'' Ensemble, c'est tout'' (2007) *'' The Golden Door'' (2006) *''

Backstage Backstage most commonly refers to backstage (theatre), also in motion picture and television production. Backstage may also refer to: Film and television * ''Back Stage'' (1969 film), a silent film starring Oliver Hardy * ''Back Stage'' (1942 fil ...

'' (2005) *'' Vers Mathilde'' (2005) *'' L'Intrus'' (2004) *'' Wild Side'' (2004) *'' Les égarés'' (2003) *'' Ten Minutes Older: The Cello'' (2002) (segment "Vers Nancy") *'' Vendredi soir'' (2002) *'' Au plus près du paradis'' (2002) *'' Trouble Every Day'' (2001) *'' La Répétition'' (2001) *'' Beau Travail'' (1999) *''

Vie ne me fait pas peur Vie (IPA: /'vi.e/), is a district (or ''quarter''), of Oradea, a city in Bihor, Romania. The name means ''vineyard'' in Romanian. Geography Vie is situated in the hills overlooking Oradea, in the northern part of the town. It spans quite a lar ...

'' (1999) *''

La Nouvelle Ève LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

'' (1999) *''

L'Arrière pays ''Hinterland'' (french: L'Arrière pays) is a 1998 French drama film directed by Jacques Nolot. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Award of the Youth. It was nominated for Be ...

'' (1998) *'' The Dreamlife of Angels'' (1998) *'' Années lycée: Petites'' (1997) (TV) *'' Nénette et Boni'' (1996) *''

Jeunesse sans Dieu ''Youth'' (French: ''Jeunesse'') is a 1934 French drama film directed by Georges Lacombe and starring Robert Arnoux, Lisette Lanvin and Jean Servais.Aitken p.754 The film's sets were designed by Pierre Schild. Cast * Robert Arnoux as Jean ...

'' (1996) (TV) *''

À propos de Nice, la suite À, à ( a- grave) is a letter of the Catalan, Emilian-Romagnol, French, Galician, Italian, Maltese, Occitan, Portuguese, Sardinian, Scottish Gaelic, Vietnamese, and Welsh languages consisting of the letter A of the ISO basic Latin al ...

'' (1995) (segment "Nice, Very Nice") *''

US Go Home The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

'' (1994) *'' I Can't Sleep'' (1994) *'' Le Géographe manuel'' (1994) *''

La robe à cerceau LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

'' (1993) TV episode *'' The Absence'' (1993) *'' Sida, une histoire qui n'a pas de fin'' (1993) *'' Histoires autour de la folie'' (1993) (TV) *''

La Vis LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' (1993) *''

Dimanche soir ''Dimanche'' (''Sunday''), also known as ''Dimanche - Le Journal d'un Seul Jour'' (''Sunday - The Newspaper for Only One Day'') is an artist's book by the French artist Yves Klein. Taking the form of a 4-page Sunday broadsheet, the piece was publ ...

'' (1992) *''

Jacquot de Nantes ''Jacquot de Nantes'' is a 1991 French drama film directed by Agnès Varda. It was screened out of competition at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. The film is a portrait of the making of an artist; recreating the early life of Varda's husband, ...

'' (1991) *'' Keep It for Yourself'' (1991) *''

Jacques Rivette - Le veilleur Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

'' (1990) (TV) *''

'' (1982) (TV)

References

External links

*
Entry in the Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers
French cinematographers French women film directors Living people French women cinematographers 1951 births César Award winners Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres {{France-film-bio-stub