About Varda Bar-Kar
I’m an “artivist” filmmaker who, at an early age, was swept up in the Jewish Diaspora. My family moved constantly. By age ten, I had lived on three continents, an experience that gave me a global perspective, a deep appreciation for diversity, and empathy for those marginalized by society. My first brush with cinema came at age five while on holiday in Israel. I peeked out a hotel window and became mesmerized by a drive-in screening of John le Carré’s A Man and A Woman. We moved to London, where my father’s stories about my great-uncle’s adventures on a James Bond production sparked my interest in filmmaking. After my parents’ divorce, my mother moved us to San Francisco. There, my eighth-grade teacher lent me a Super 8 camera. By twelve, I had made my first short documentary. As a teenager living in New York City, I immersed myself in the city’s culture—museums, jazz clubs, and arthouse theaters—developing an enduring passion for artistry.
I began working as a script supervisor alongside masters like Jim Jarmusch, Wayne Wang, and Carroll Ballard. I transitioned into directing shorts, including Window, starring Academy Award-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr., which won festival awards and screened at Cannes. My first feature documentary fulfilled the dying wish of a veteran named Shane, whom I met while volunteering in hospice care at the West Los Angeles VA hospital. Since then, my films have explored the stories of those deemed outsiders—celebrating their contributions and revealing life’s possibilities in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity.
My documentary Big Voice won multiple awards, premiered on Netflix, and was broadcast on PBS, earning a Bronze Telly Award. My HBO/MAX documentary, Fandango at the Wall, executive produced by Carlos Santana and Quincy Jones, follows Maestro Arturo O’Farrill to Veracruz, Mexico, where he jams with the masters of son jarocho, then joins them for a fandango on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border—transforming it from an object that divides into one that unites. The film inspired the Grammy-winning album Fandango at the Wall in New York. I’ve also directed for FOX’s 9-1-1 and was a consulting producer on Netflix’s Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me.
Recently, I was commissioned to write and direct a documentary about Cheech Marin and his influence on the rise of Chicano Art for PBS SoCal’s Emmy-winning series Artbound. The Cheech aired as the premiere episode launching the season.
My upcoming music documentary, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence, delves into the creative genius and defiant resilience of Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Janis Ian. It features Ian’s friends and collaborators, including Lily Tomlin, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Jean Smart, and Laurie Metcalf. Greenwich Entertainment will release Breaking Silence theatrically in the United States, followed by a national broadcast on the PBS Series American Masters.
My work has received grants from the Ford Foundation, Jewish Story Partners, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and the Miranda Family Foundation. I’m a beneficiary of the Ryan Murphy Half Initiative, the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency, and the Jewish Film Institute Residency, as well as, a member of the Directors Guild of America, the International Documentary Association, and Film Fatale.
When not making films, I love creating art, listening to music, watching movies, swimming, biking, hiking, and exploring the world with my husband, Patrick Scott Bennett, and our daughters, Paloma and Raven.