Wanda and her songstress
 

Posted on 21.10.2023

"Wanda was sort of based on my own personality... A sort of passivity, drifting, moving from one person to another with no direction... I spent many years of my life like that and I felt that... well, I think a lot of people are like that. And not just women, but men too. They don't know why they exist."

This is how Barbara Loden (1932-1980) described her only film, a miracle of independent cinema in which she also played the starring role. Wanda is the story of a floating young woman who gets involved with a petty thief, a tale inspired by a true story but strongly influenced by the cinema of Warhol. Poorly received in the United States, Wanda, which won an award at the 1970 Venice Film Festival, fared better in France, gradually becoming a landmark of women's cinema. Isabelle Huppert's passion for the film led to its re-release in cinemas and on DVD. Wanda has also served as the basis for several literary and theatrical works: Nathalie Léger's book, Supplément à la vie de Barbara Loden, which won the Prix du Livre Inter in 2012 and Marie Rémond's show, Vers Wanda, performed in 2013. Now, singer-songwriter Jeanne Cherhal, who charmed the Lumière film festival with her rendition of movie songs, has come up with a show combining readings, music and video clips. An exceptional creation worth seeing.

© Olivier Chassignole

A. F.

EVENT
Variations on Wanda by Barbara Loden perfomed by Jeanne Cherhal - Music, readings, video clips (1h15)
Institut Lumière (Hangar) – Saturday, 21 October at 6.45pm

SCREENING
Wanda by Barbara Loden (1970, 1h37)
Institut Lumière (Villa) – Sunday, 22 October at 10.45am