Philippe René Doumic made his debut in the 60s by producing for UniFrance many black and white portraits of the rising stars of the French cinema: actresses, actors, filmmakers. He worked in natural light, signed his photos “Philippe R. Doumic” and made his own prints that were distributed around the world by UniFrance to promote those whose films met a growing success beyond our borders.
Thanks to the perseverance of Sébastien Cauchon, Communications Director of UniFrance but also collector who had in his personal archives a vintage print of Jean-Paul Belmondo by Philippe Doumic, the trace of the photographer who had been lost over the years was found in the person of his daughter, Laurence Doumic, filmmaker, eager with her family to put in the light the work of her father .
On the occasion of the 70 anniversary of UniFrance, both immersed themselves in the archives of Philippe Doumic, untapped for nearly 60 years, which include several thousand negatives to compose this first exhibition dedicated to the photographer, entitled, French Icons .
Through 40 images, in large parts unpublished, it is a part of the veil that is lifted on a work without equivalent alongside the big names of the 7th Art. Some of his images, of obvious beauty, have become emblematic of the New Wave. Others are surprisingly unpublished. But all present the face of the big icons of French cinema. Actors obviously, Alain Delon, Françoise Dorleac, Catherine Deneuve, Jeanne Moreau, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Michel Piccoli, Jean Marais, Lino Ventura … And major directors like, François Truffaut, Jean-Pierre Melville, Agnès Varda, Jacques Demy, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Lelouch …
In 1964 UniFrance commissioned Philippe Labro 4XD, a documentary short film featuring four young actresses of the time, Mireille Darc, Marie Dubois, Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac, to promote these young talents in the world. This film cab be seen in the screening room of the Cinema Gallery.
Philippe R. Doumic – French Icons
April 19 – June 01, 2019
Galerie Cinema Anne-Dominique Toussaint
26 rue Saint-Claude
75003 Paris
