After five volumes and 15 issues, it’s time we pay tribute to the inspiration behind our name (in case you were wondering, cléo is a reference to the titular character from the 1962 classic Cléo de 5 à 7). A legendary filmmaker whose oeuvre spans seven decades (and counting!), Agnès Varda has both shaped and disrupted the cinematic landscape through her expansive, radical empathy and vivid aesthetic vision. We’re looking for articles that consider all aspects of Varda’s work—from her shorts to her feature films and documentaries—and engage with her texts in fresh and surprising ways.
This issue will launch in Spring 2018 in conjunction with a TIFF Cinematheque retrospective of Varda’s work programmed by cléo (March 22-April 17, more info here).
Topics to consider…
- an appraisal of Varda’s short work/s
- the influences of photography and documentary in Varda’s fiction work (Vagabond, La Pointe Court, Ulysse, Salut les cubains!)
- the nature of collaboration in filmmaking and how it is used by Varda (Jane B. for Agnès V., Les Demoiselles ont eu 25 ans, Faces Places)
- art and artists in the works of Varda (The Creatures, One Hundred and One Nights, Ydessa, the Bears, and etc., Uncle Yanco, From Here to There)
- Varda’s engagement with political activism (Black Panthers; Salut les cubains!; One Sings, the Other Doesn’t; Réponse de femmes)
- themes of health, aging, mortality and death as they reoccur in Varda’s oeuvre (Cléo de 5 à 7, Jacquot de Nantes, Le Bonheur, Ulysse, Faces Places)
- autobiographical modes and the aesthetics of self-portraiture (Les Plages d’Agnès, Diary of a Pregnant Woman)
- the evolution of technology and digital filmmaking in Varda’s work (The Gleaners and I, Homage to Zgougou the Cat)
To submit: IN ONE PDF DOCUMENT send us your pitch of 300 words and three writing samples (please send links or, if no link is available, single-spaced articles no longer than 3000 words). Label the PDF document using this format: LastName_FirstName_FILM
Tip! Please look over our past issues to get a sense of the kind of work we’re looking for and to ensure we haven’t already covered the film you’d like to write about. We also have a Letterboxd list of titles we’ve covered that we update after every new issue.
The deadline for pitches is January 4, 2018. We will be in touch regarding accepted pitches. Articles should be between 1500–2000 words. The deadline to submit first drafts of articles will be February 5, 2018.
Compensation in the form of an honorarium will be provided for contributors selected for the issue. Based on our current funding, cléo pays $125 CAD per article, $75 CAD per 750-1000 word Who We’re Watching piece, and $50 CAD to each roundtable participant.
Submissions and general inquiries: cleofilmjournal@gmail.com