La Pointe courte (1956) introduced the world to Agnès Varda, one of the most unique directors of French cinema. She will be at TIFF08 to present her first film, as well as her most recent work, Les Plages d’Agnès. Hailed as an early film in France’s New Wave movement, Varda’s impressive debut feature shows how her background as a photojournalist shaped her distinct voice. La Pointe courte alternates between two storylines, which Varda weaves together masterfully. In one, a young Parisian couple on vacation in a Mediterranean village discusses their rocky marriage, while in the other, the village residents struggle to maintain their livelihood in the face of authorities. Each storyline is presented differently, with the couple’s conversations emphasized in a highly stylized manner, while the villager’s story is shown in a documentary-like realist style. This formidable work introduced the international film world to an artist who still dazzles with every new work.