Far removed from visible society, they still exist—the collectors of leftovers. In the fields, they bend down to pick up potatoes that have been left behind; in the cities, they rummage through the waste of consumer society. They live off what others carelessly leave behind. With a keen eye, Agnès Varda leads us into a world beyond economic exploitation. She herself becomes a collector: of images, stories and encounters with people—among them winegrowers, artists, or those without secure housing. The result is Les Glaneurs et la Glaneuse (The Gleaners and I), a poetic film about losing, finding and the value of discarded things.

Narges Kalhor says of Les Glaneurs et la Glaneuse:
‘Varda struggled for years to secure funding and initially failed to convince television stations and French film companies of the film's merits. Out of necessity, she started shooting with a mini DV camera, feeling the urge to simply start. The outdated aesthetics uniquely capture an essayistic narrative in a deliberate and highly artistic manner. For me, Varda is one of the most important female filmmakers in a very male-dominated field; she forges her own path in her own style. Les Glaneurs inspired many to use digital cameras and minimal staging.’