Varda Bar-Kar


Varda Bar-Kar is a film director, writer, and producer based in Santa Monica, California. She is best known for her short film Window, her viral video What Kind of Planet Are We On?, her documentary Big Voice, ''9-1-1 (TV series), and her documentary Fandango at the Wall and Janis Ian: Breaking Silence''.
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Life and career

Varda was born in London, England to a South African mother and Romanian father. She holds a BA in theater arts from Cornell University and an MFA in film studies from the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI). She worked as a script supervisor for directors Jim Jarmusch, Wayne Wang and Carroll Ballard.
In 2015, Varda's feature documentary, Big Voice, won Best Premiere Documentary at the Heartland Film Festival and the 2018 PBS SoCal broadcast of Big Voice won a Bronze Telly Award. She is a member of the DGA, Film Fatales and the Alliance of Women Directors. In 2024, She wrote and directed ARTBOUND: The Cheech, part of PBS SoCal’s ARTBOUND series, exploring the creation of The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, featuring interviews with Cheech Marin.
In 2025, Varda released Janis Ian: Breaking Silence, a documentary about singer-songwriter Janis Ian, featuring figures such as Lily Tomlin, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, and Laurie Metcalf. The film is structured around Ian’s albums and explores her personal and professional life.