About Varda Bar-Kar
Emmy Award-winning director Varda Bar-Kar is known for her vibrant films that explore the complexity of the human condition in uplifting ways. Varda was born in England to a South African mother and Romanian father. She lived on three continents by the time she was 10, giving her a global perspective. Her films have been recognized at major festivals, screened and broadcast internationally, and premiered on major platforms including Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max, and PBS.
Since her first feature documentary “Visiting Shane”—fulfilling the dying wish of a veteran she met while volunteering in hospice care—Varda has built a career around amplifying the voices of outsiders and transforming stories of struggle into celebrations of resilience.
Her Anthem Award-winning music documentary, “Janis Ian: Breaking Silence” (Greenwich Entertainment), explores the creative genius and resilience of Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Janis Ian. The film premiered at DOC NYC, where it was one of the “top ten” most-viewed films. It was selected as “Best of the Fest” at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and has won multiple festival audience awards. “Breaking Silence,” which features Janis Ian, Lily Tomlin, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Jean Smart, and Laurie Metcalf, has been rated 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes following its theatrical release, which culminated in a national broadcast on the PBS series American Masters. It is now available on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, and other platforms.
Varda’s PBS SoCal documentary, “Artbound: The Cheech,” about Cheech Marin’s pivotal role in the rise of Chicano art, was awarded two LA Emmy Awards and an LA Press Club Journalism Award.
Her music documentary, “Fandango at the Wall” (Sony, Executive Producers Carlos Santana and Quincy Jones), premiered on HBO, streamed on MAX, screened at the Library of Congress, and inspired the Grammy-winning album “Fandango at the Wall in New York.” Her documentary “Big Voice” premiered on Netflix and aired nationally on PBS, earning a Bronze Telly Award. Varda served as a consulting producer on the popular Netflix documentary “Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me.”
Varda also directs scripted works, including an episode of FOX’s hit series “9-1-1” and the short film “Window,” starring Oscar–winning actor Louis Gossett Jr., which won multiple festival awards, screened at Cannes, and was broadcast nationally. She is developing scripted feature projects, including the psychological thriller “Siren’s Song,” which she is co-writing with her partner Patrick S. Bennett, and, in partnership with KNK Productions, a feature comedy set in Palm Springs. Currently, she is in pre-production on the scripted short film “Voices,” based on real-life events, written by Susan Klos and produced by Alessandra Pasquino.
Varda and her work have received support from the Ford Foundation, Jewish Story Partners, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, the Miranda Family Foundation, the Ryan Murphy Half Foundation Initiative, the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency, and the Jewish Film Institute Residency. She is a member of the Directors Guild of America, the Television Academy, the International Documentary Association, and Film Fatale.
When not directing, Varda enjoys creating art, listening to music, swimming, biking, hiking, and exploring the world with her husband, Patrick Scott Bennett, and their daughters, Paloma and Raven.