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 networks such as Netflix, Prime Video, HBO/MAX, and PBS.
Varda’s 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 recognized by the Palm Springs International Film Festival as “Best of the Fest,” and it won the “Best Documentary Audience Award” at the International Jewish Film Festival in Australia. The film, which features Lily Tomlin, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Jean Smart, and Laurie Metcalf, has been rated 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. It screened theatrically across the US, culminating in a national broadcast on PBS’s American Masters, and is now available on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, and more.
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” (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 has directed for FOX’s hit series “9-1-1” and served as a consulting producer on Netflix’s “Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me”.
She began her career as a script supervisor working with celebrated filmmakers Jim Jarmusch, Wayne Wang, and Carroll Ballard before transitioning into directing. Her short film “Window,” starring Academy Award–winning actor Louis Gossett Jr., won festival awards and screened at Cannes. Since her first feature documentary—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 films have received support from the Ford Foundation, Jewish Story Partners, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and the Miranda Family Foundation. She has been awarded residencies and fellowships through the Ryan Murphy Half Initiative, the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency, and the Jewish Film Institute Residency. Varda is a member of the Directors Guild of America, the Television Academy, 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.