Doha Film Institute Presents “I Am Film” Exhibit by Brigitte Lacombe “I Am Film” an exhibit throughout the City of Doha and at Katara, the Cultural Village Katara Exhibit to include “Brigitte Lacombe Archives”, “Brigitte Lacombe Work in Progress”, and “Marian Lacombe Video Portraits” as part of the Doha Film Institute’s activities at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival Doha, Qatar, October 28, 2010- The Doha Film Institute (DFI) presents “I Am Film,” an exhibition of photographs by world renowned French photographer Brigitte Lacombe. “I Am Film” will be on exhibit throughout the city, visible on the streets of Doha, Qatar with portraits adorning buildings and squares all the way to Katara, Cultural Village, the main hub of the 2010 Doha Tribeca Film Festival. This final stop of the exhibition will be a fully interactive installation complete with Lacombe's photographs as well as video portraits by her sister, filmmaker Marian Lacombe, highlighting their journey around the world to over 100 Arab cinematic figures. The multi-media exhibit, the first comprehensive photographic and video documentation of the Middle East’s emerging and iconic cinematic storytellers and film talent, opened on October 26, to coincide with the opening of the second annual Doha Tribeca Film Festival. Carmen Lebbos, Fadi Abu Samra, Nada Abou Farhat, Nadine Labaki, Nabil Ayouch, Nadim Sawalha , Khaled Abol Naga, Ali F. Mostafa, Mohammed Bakri, Michel Khleifi, Hend Sabri, Adel Imam, Basma, Yosra , Nayla Al Khaja, Ahmed Ahmed, Tarak Ben Ammar, Rachid Bouchareb, Shekhar Kapur, Salma Hayek Pinault, Ashraf Farah, Hiam Abbas, and Yasmine Al Massri are some of the filmmakers that have taken part in the exhibit. Lacombe’s new photo’s, “Work in Progress”, will make their debut at the Festival this year, and will also be accompanied by an exhibit of Lacombe’s most iconic images, “Brigitte Lacombe Archives”, from 1975-2010, featuring portraits of celebrities including Meryl Streep, Martin Scorsese, Penelope Cruz and Leonardo DiCaprio amongst many others. Her work will be on display daily during the Festival in Building 4 at Katara. Speaking about Brigitte Lacombe's involvement with the DFI and the region of Doha, H.E. Sheikha Mayassa Bint Hamad Al Thani said: "Brigitte first came to Doha in 2008. She was inspired and excited by what she saw here and in the region. And so the idea to commemorate the Doha Film Institute’s inaugural year by turning Brigitte’s 'camera of truth' on a gallery of international cinematic storytellers is a natural fit – and a glorious extension of her career so far. " Speaking about this showcase of the Arab world’s film talent, Executive Director of DFI, Amanda Palmer says: “What began as a conversation with Brigitte about our mutual fascination with storytellers has become a beautiful and important journey -- one that has resulted in over 100 incredible images, with more to come. Brigitte is driven by passion, studying her subjects in advance and then using her lens to elicit their individual stories.” “This Project, portraits of Arab filmmakers for the Doha Film Institute, is the most ambitious most exciting and generous one that I was ever offered. I am grateful,” said Brigitte Lacombe. Brigitte first came to Doha in 2008 and returned in 2009 to attend the inaugural Doha Tribeca Film Festival as a special guest. She was inspired and excited by what she saw here in Doha and in the region, and began to shoot a new portfolio supported by DFI, a project that celebrates the rich cinematic talents of the Arab film community. Lacombe has traveled to Beirut, New York, Paris, London, Palestine, Cairo, Damascus, and Doha capturing portraits of some of the film industry’s most important figures and the biggest names in Bollywood and Arab cinema for this year’s upcoming film Festival. Within the space during the Festival, there will also be Karak Chats from 3:00-5:00PM which will feature Najwa Najjar, William Shimmel, Michael and Jeff Zimbalist, Rahab Elewaly, Ibrahim El Batout, Sameh Zoabi, Mahmoud Kaabour and many more of the 100 film talent who were photographed by Brigitte for the exhibit, in an intimate and personal chat, reliving their stories about the beautiful world of cinema. The Karak Chats are free and open to the public. About Brigitte Lacombe: French photographer Brigitte Lacombe lives in New York City. Her loves are portraits and travel. Brigitte left school to be an apprentice at the black and white lab of Elle in Paris. She contributes to many publications including Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Time, and GQ. She has been a contributing photographer to Condé Nast Traveler magazine, since their first issue in 1986. In 2000, she won the Eisenstaedt Award for Travel Photography. In November 2010, Brigitte will receive the “Art Director’s Club” Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award for Photography. Her work can be seen at www.brigittelacombe.com About Marian Lacombe: Marian Lacombe was raised in France and studied journalism and anthropology at New York University. For the past 20 years, she worked as a reporter, anchorwoman, and editor-in-chief on daily news and magazines for the private French television channel M6 in Paris. She opened and ran their correspondent headquarters in Lyon and Marseilles. For M6 TV, Marian created a nightly talk show, DAZIBAO, and the first behind the scenes program on the world of fashion, MODE 6. She directed documentaries on filmmakers, choreographers and designers such as: Robert Altman, Philippe Decouflé and Christian Lacroix. She is now an independent documentary filmmaker, currently working on portraits of the European theater and opera directors Luc Bondy and Laurent Pelly. Marian also travels around the world filming and working with her sister, photographer Brigitte Lacombe, on Brigitte’s travel assignments for Condé Nast Traveler magazine. I AM FILM Brigitte Lacombe Archives (1975-2010) included in the Exhibit: Daniel Day-Lewis, Javier Bardem, Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Helen Mirren, Jude Law, Matt Damon, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Jack Nicholson, Pedro Almodovar, Penelope Cruz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett, Mira Nair, Bernardo Bertolucci, Kate Winslet, Al Pacino, Ralph Fiennes, Tim Burton, Susan Sarandon, Julia Roberts, Woody Allen, Dustin Hoffman, Warren Beatty, Roman Polanski, Nicole Kidman, Steven Spielberg, Annette Bening, Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Sofia Coppola, Juliette Binoche, Dakota Fanning, Johnny Depp among many others. About the Doha Film Institute: The Doha Film Institute, founded in 2010 by H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, is Qatar’s first international organization dedicated to film education and entertainment. Its initiatives include funding film and television productions, year-round teaching and film appreciation programs.as well as the annual Doha Tribeca Film Festival. DFI’s cultural partners include New York’s Tribeca Enterprises, Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation and Mira Nair’s “Maisha” Filmmaker Labs. Along with its Founder, DFI leadership includes Executive Director Amanda Palmer, Managing Director Maggie Kim, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Fahad Al-Thani, H.E. Dr. Hassan Al-Nimah and H.E. Sheikh Jabor Bin Yousuf Al Thani.

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