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 recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

. 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 and of all time. Her work has dealt with themes of colonial and p ...

. For her work, she has won a

César Award Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * César (film), ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * César (film), ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar R ...

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 and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...

' 50-minute '' Room 666'', made for television. There she met Claire Denis, who was working as Wenders'

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) 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 ...

.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 t ...

on films by Wenders,

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

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

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 short films including '' Night and Fog ...

. 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 s ...

. 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 The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, 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 i ...

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

Sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent 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 ref ...

'' (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 more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

'' (2008) *'' 35 rhums'' (2008) *'' Ensemble, c'est tout'' (2007) *'' The Golden Door'' (2006) *''

Backstage Backstage may refer to: * Backstage (theatre), the areas of a theatre that are not part of the house or stage Film and television * ''Back Stage'' (1917 film), a silent film starring Oliver Hardy * ''Back Stage'' (1919 film), a silent film starri ...

'' (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 ''Beau Travail'' (, French for "good work") is a 1999 French film directed by Claire Denis, who co-wrote the screenplay alongside Jean-Pol Fargeau, an adaptation of the novella ''Billy Budd'' by Herman Melville. The story is set in Djibouti, wh ...

'' (1999) *'' Vie ne me fait pas peur'' (1999) *'' La Nouvelle Ève'' (1999) *'' L'Arrière pays'' (1998) *'' The Dreamlife of Angels'' (1998) *'' Années lycée: Petites'' (1997) (TV) *'' Nénette et Boni'' (1996) *'' Jeunesse sans Dieu'' (1996) (TV) *'' À propos de Nice, la suite'' (1995) (segment "Nice, Very Nice") *'' US Go Home'' (1994) *'' I Can't Sleep'' (1994) *'' Le Géographe manuel'' (1994) *'' La robe à cerceau'' (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'' (1993) *'' Dimanche soir'' (1992) *'' Jacquot de Nantes'' (1991) *'' Keep It for Yourself'' (1991) *'' Jacques Rivette - Le veilleur'' (1990) (TV) *'' Room 666'' (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 Best Cinematography César Award winners Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Institut des hautes études cinématographiques alumni {{France-film-bio-stub