The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague welcomed famous French cinematographer Agnès Godard as part of its mentoring programme. She worked with FAMU students from 11 to 14 December 2023. On the occasion, the luminary of the global cinema will receive the AMU Gold Medal for her contribution to the industry. The medal has been bestowed at the French Institute, which is a partner to Godard’s stay in Prague along with Biofilms, on 12 December 2023.

The artist was hold one-on-one consulting sessions at FAMU with cinematographers and other film crew members from among FAMU students, and lead a workshop and masterclasses with film screenings. On Tuesday, 12 December at 7 pm, she has received the AMU Gold Medal for her extraordinary achievements and contribution to the global cinema from Dean of FAMU Andrea Slováková at the French Institute. The previous laureates of the medal include Věra Chytilová, Karel Vachek, Lubor Dohnal, and Vojtěch Jasný.

Agnès Godard, the first-call cinematographer for directors such as Wim Wenders, Agnès Varda, Ursula Meier, and Claire Denis, is considered to be one of the most remarkable authors of the global cinema. Early on in her career, she worked as an assistant cinematographer with Robby Müller on Wim Wenders’s emblematic Paris, Texas (1984) and on the famous German director’s next full-length, Wings of Desire (1987) along with cinematographer Henri Alekan. Her first work as the director of cinematography is Chambre 666 (1982), a 45-minute Cannes documentary directed by Wim Wenders. Collaborations with Agnès Varda, André Téchiné, Claude Berri, Carol Morley, and most notably Claire Denis followed. Godard made 15 feature films with Morley, including I Can’t Sleep (1994), Friday Night (2002), and L’Intrus (2004). Her films received several César nominations for the best cinematography, one of which resulted in an actual award (Good Work, dir. Claire Denis, 1999). To date, Godard has made almost 50 films.