Ydessa, the Bears and etc.
Agnès Varda's intimate encounter with Ydessa Hendeles turns a teddy-bear photography exhibition into a meditation on art, memory, and historical trauma.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- reflective
- intimate
- serious
- museum afternoon
- quiet reflection
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Ydessa Hendeles discusses the singularity of her artistic approach while Agnès Varda probes the exhibition's puzzling effect.
Hendeles speaks about the Holocaust and the survival of both parents, linking biography to collective memory.
The exhibition consists of photographs showing living people with teddy bears, making the image itself the film's central visual and conceptual motif.
Varda's puzzlement about The Living and the Artificial motivates her visit and interview with Hendeles.
Films like Ydessa, the Bears and etc., and why
The Gleaners and I
shares an intimate, reflective documentary mode centered on artistic practice, personal memory, and the director's presence
Faces Places
shares Varda's conversational essay-film sensibility, humane curiosity, and interest in how art connects strangers and communities
Bill Cunningham New York
shares a contemplative art documentary approach built around a singular creator, visual objects, and questions of memory and interpretation
Movie Details
- Director
- Agnès Varda
- Release Date
- 2004-07-03
- Runtime
- 44 min
- Rating
- 5.7 / 10 (16)
Cast
- Ydessa Hendeles
- Agnès Varda
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel, DocAlliance Films
- Rent
- DocAlliance Films
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Ydessa, the Bears and etc. about?
- Agnès Varda's intimate encounter with Ydessa Hendeles turns a teddy-bear photography exhibition into a meditation on art, memory, and historical trauma.
- What is Ydessa, the Bears and etc. like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Ydessa, the Bears and etc. as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Ydessa, the Bears and etc. violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Ydessa, the Bears and etc..
- Which films are like Ydessa, the Bears and etc.?
- Films with a similar feel include The Gleaners and I, Faces Places, and Bill Cunningham New York.
- How long is Ydessa, the Bears and etc.?
- Ydessa, the Bears and etc. runs 44 minutes.
- Where can I watch Ydessa, the Bears and etc.?
- In United States, Ydessa, the Bears and etc. streams on Criterion Channel, DocAlliance Films.
