Daguerréotypes
1976 documentary film by Agnès Varda
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Daguerréotypes is a 1976 French documentary film directed by Agnès Varda. The film consists of vignettes capturing life on Rue Daguerre, a street in Paris where Varda lived.
- Agnès Varda
- Rosalie Varda
- Mystag the Magician
- Andrée Choty
- Gordon Swire
| Daguerréotypes | |
|---|---|
French theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Agnès Varda |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Nurith Aviv |
| Edited by |
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| Distributed by | ZDF |
Release date |
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Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
Production
At the time of filming, Varda was caring for her two-year-old son and could not travel far from her home. Consequently, the entire film was shot within a 90-metre (300 ft) radius of her residence, the maximum length of the electric cables powering her equipment.[1]
Synopsis
The film profiles various shopkeepers and residents of Rue Daguerre, many of whom came from outside Paris or even outside France. Each subject is asked a series of three recurring questions: "Where did you come from?", "When did you get here?", and "Why did you come?"[2]
Title and themes
The title Daguerréotypes is a pun referring both to the street Rue Daguerre—named after Louis Daguerre, the inventor of the daguerreotype photographic process—and to the idea of "types". In a voiceover, Varda describes the subjects as her "types", referencing typologies as both a photographic and social concept. The film critiques these systems of classification, and several scenes feature subjects posed in the style of 19th-century portrait photography.[3][4]
