Jacquot de Nantes

Jacquot de Nantes

Directed by Agnès Varda • 1991 • France
Starring Philippe Maron, Édouard Joubeaud, Laurent Monnier

Agnès Varda’s tender evocation of the childhood of her husband, Jacques Demy—a dream project that she realized for him when he became too ill to direct it himself—is a wonder-filled portrait of the artist as a young man and an enchanting ode to the magic of cinema. Shot in Demy’s hometown of Nantes (including the house he grew up in), this imaginative blend of narrative and documentary traces his coming of age as he finds escape from the tumult of World War II in puppet shows, fairy tales, opera, and, above all, movies—the formative aesthetic experiences that would fuel his vivid Technicolor imagination and find unforgettable expression in his exuberant New Wave masterworks. Interspersing intimate footage of the older Demy reflecting on his life’s journey, JACQUOT DE NANTES is a poignant love letter from one visionary artist to another.

Jacquot de Nantes
  • Jacquot de Nantes

    Directed by Agnès Varda • 1991 • France
    Starring Philippe Maron, Édouard Joubeaud, Laurent Monnier

    Agnès Varda’s tender evocation of the childhood of her husband, Jacques Demy—a dream project that she realized for him when he became too ill to direct it himself—is a wonder-filled portrait of the...

Extras

  • Agnès Tells a Sad and Happy Story

    In this program from 2008, director Agnès Varda gathers some of her collaborators from JACQUOT DE NANTES to discuss their experiences making the film, as well as how Varda wove her grief over the loss of her husband, Jacques Demy, into other projects.

  • Souvenirs and Evocations

    In this short 2008 program by JACQUOT DE NANTES director Agnès Varda, filmmaker Patrice Leconte, Ciné-Tamaris technician Jean-Noël Félix, and filmmaker-actor Melvil Poupaud describe how they first fell in love with cinema.