Philippe R. Doumic, unknown photographing the great French stars of the seventh art

“When I was a child, I saw his photos, I saw that there was an incredible power in his appearance, I had the impression that they were talking to me,” Lawrence Dumick smiles. The director always told himself that one day he would make a film about his father, Philip R. Dumich, and tell him as he knew him. Shortly after his death, in 2013, she and her husband discovered a treasure trove of approximately 20,000 negatives collected by the photographer between 1955 and 1970 in the Solognote family home. It was later commissioned by Unifrance. Promotion of French cinema abroad.

The name disappears

The time was favorable: it was the glory hour of Jean Gabin, Jean Marais, Yves Simon, but also new faces such as Alain Delon, Brigitte Bardot or Catherine Deneuve, and the emergence of the New Wave with Jean-Paul. Belmondo, Jean-Luc Godard or Francois Truffaut. In the privacy of their homes, on the street or on film sets, Doumic photographs them all. His son-in-law, Christian Roux, says: “He had a great opportunity to connect with the people he photographed, and he trusted them completely.” But the Unifrance name overshadows everything and the name of Philippe R. Doumic disappears.

Just as Laurence Doumic was trying to get closer to Unifrance, its communications director and photography enthusiast Sébastien Cauchon stumbled across a portrait of his favorite Belmondo on Ebay. He discovers that it is a Unifrance photograph signed by a certain Philippe R. Doumic. The two bond and the director comes to see the collection: he comes out dazzled with the desire to organize a photo exhibition dedicated to Unifranc’s work for the 70th anniversary and to accompany Lawrence in the making of a documentary. . “It was moving because I was looking at my father’s pictures from the outside for the first time in a long time. »

Hollywood Honors

Combining the family search and investigation into the erasure of Doumic’s name, the film meets personalities who have seen his work, such as the writer and director Philippe Labro and the film critic Serge Tubiana. Released in 2019, the film was screened at the Fema festival in La Rochelle and the Angoulême Francophonie film festival. If not for Covid, the work of Philippe R. Doumic would already have Hollywood awards, as the Academy of Oscars planned to show the 70-year exhibition of Unifrance before the health crisis. “It’s just a postponement,” smiles Laurence Doumic.

(1) Under Her Gaze, the Spark Documentary Laurence Dumic and Sébastien Cauchon will be screened at the Plaza this Thursday, November 10 at 9:00 p.m. “Philippe R. Doumic, the eye of cinema” (Editions Capricci), Marmandaise bookstore Le gang de la roue spanner signing session by Laurence Doumic and Christian Roux this Saturday at 11am.

His daughter saw his work

“He always liked to paint portraits, which we didn’t do back then. We are far from Harcourt clichés. He shoots on the street, in natural light, with as few restrictions as possible for his subjects. He was interested in capturing the personality of the people he photographed. I remember him saying that he was disappointed with the session with Catherine Deneuve and that he attributed his failed photos, although great, simply because he couldn’t nail down his personality. He was reserved and respectful, so he created bonds of trust with the actors: Gabin even asked him to take photos of his family, but knowing that he would not show them to anyone. »