Legendary French director Agnes Varda showed up to the 90th Academy Awards looking like a “pope in pajamas” on Sunday. Her unique look impressed the audience at home.
Varda received an honorary Oscar in November and was nominated for Best Documentary for Faces Places, which she made with artist JR. The film chronicles her journey around rural France. She became the oldest nominee in Oscar history, and turns 90 on May 30.
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“I went from one film to another, just trying to be an artist and I never saw my work as a career,” Varda told ABC News before the Oscars. “So, I don’t feel the pressure of the competition [at the Oscars] at all.”
Varda said just getting nominated alongside JR was “already an award.” She said the point of the acclaimed film was to highlight the everyday people you can meet while on a trip.
“You meet people,” she told ABC News. “Through us, you discovered people you had not met before. We tried to make the world more friendly. There is also a need [in the world] for peace, sharing or making connections.”
Varda is considered one of the architects of the French New Wave, a movement that dominated world cinema in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her 1962 film Cleo From 5 To 7 is considered one of the best films of the movement.
“The best that could happen to an old lady is make fun of and enjoy being old,” she told ABC News. “You can make fun of it with tenderness, you can do that.”
Twitter users loved the outfit Varda wore to the Oscars, with one writing, “90-year-old French director Agnes Varda can show up channeling a Pope in pajamas if she wants to.”
90-year-old French director Agnes Varda can show up channeling a Pope in pajamas if she wants to. #oscars90 pic.twitter.com/1RlTjAkftE
โ Lesley Abravanel (@lesleyabravanel) March 5, 2018
“Agnes Varda did not come here to play [Gucci Gang],” another wrote.
Agnes Varda did not come here to play #GucciGang #Oscars pic.twitter.com/aDf9jg956d
โ Lindsay Pugh (@lindsayrpugh) March 5, 2018
“Agnes Varda is an international treasure. I don’t pay much attention to the #Oscars red carpet but, of the dresses I’ve seen, this is aces… right up there with [Lupita Nyongo]’s gorgeous outfit,” another viewer wrote.
Agnes Varda is an international treasure. I don’t pay much attention to the #Oscars red carpet but, of the dresses I’ve seen, this is aces… right up there with @Lupita_Nyongo‘s gorgeous outfit. https://t.co/lIhHGLI2EE
โ Wallace McKelvey (@wjmckelvey) March 5, 2018
Photo credit: Getty