World-renowned costume designer Anna Lombardi, who has worked on movies such as Gangs of New York, The Aviator, and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, will illustrate the unique craft of costume design in a special lecture at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) in Education City.
The lecture, titled, “Clothes vs Costumes” is being hosted by the University in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy in Qatar. It will take place on November 5 at 12:30pm at the Atrium at VCUarts Qatar and will be free and open to the public. The event is part of “Fare Cinema (Making Films) – The Italian Movie Industry”, an initiative launched in 2018 by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to promote abroad the “Made in Italy” cinema with a focus on the film-making crafts – the different professions of the trade that make up the complex mechanism of film production.
“The last year’s very first edition of Fare Cinema – says the Ambassador of Italy, H.E. Pasquale Salzano – was dedicated to set-designers. In the second edition we decided to put the spotlight on the artistic and creative work of costume designers, a field where Italy can boast a long-standing tradition”.
“Costume designers – continues Ambassador Salzano – do not appear in front of cameras. They work behind the scenes to make characters more realistic, shape their personalities and put them in line with the historical epoch of the movie’s plot. We are glad that Anna Lombardi, one of the most talented Italian costume designers, accepted our invitation to come to Doha as testimonial of Fare Cinema in Qatar. She will share the experiences of a career driven by passion, creativity and top-level technical competences with the young students of VCU and with anyone interested in knowing more about the Italian quality film-production”.
At the lecture, Lombardi will take the audience on a behind-the-scenes journey and analyze the costumes that were designed for film sets in the 1950s. The reciprocal influence between fashion and cinema will be highlighted, as well as the close relationships costume designers have with makeup and hair stylists, cinematographers, and directors.
Lombardi was nominated for Best Costumes in the Feature Film Category at the Premio di Berenice awards for the film titled, Anita B. by Roberto Faenza, and in 2018 for Best Costumes at the David di Donatello Awards, (the “Italian Oscars”), for the film Brutti e Cattivi.
She has been an assistant to Oscar-winning designers such as Sandy Powell, Alexandra Byrne, Colleen Atwood, Gabriella Pescucci, and Janty Yates on movies such as The Favourite (Director: Yorgos Lanthimos), All The Money in The World (Director: Ridley Scott), Gangs of New York (Director: Martin Scorsese), The Aviator (Director: Martin Scorsese), Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (Director: John Madden), The Borgias (Director: Neil Jordan) and many others. In recent years she has also collaborated as a costume curator to several costume exhibitions, including the Costume Collection for the Cinecittà Studios Film Museum. Lombardi is the Vice President of ARTSCENICO, the European Federation for Costume and Production Design.
Find out more about VCUarts Qatar at qatar.vcu.edu
About Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar
Established in 1998 through a partnership with Qatar Foundation, VCUarts Qatar is the international branch campus of Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts, a top-ranked art and design program in the U.S. VCUarts Qatar is celebrating a fruitful 20-year alliance between VCU and the Qatar Foundation that underscores the commitment of each institution to excellence, inquiry, discovery and innovation in a global setting.
VCUarts Qatar offers students the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fashion design, graphic design, interior design and painting and printmaking, a Bachelor of Arts degree in art history, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in design. A vibrant community with global reach, VCUarts promises to instill in students a lifelong passion for education and the arts.
VCUarts Qatar offers valuable opportunities for cross-cultural exchange and connects VCUarts to the influential art and design world of the Middle East and beyond. The campus attracts renowned contributors to contemporary visual culture for speaking and teaching engagements, and hosts two major international events: Tasmeem, a biennial art and design conference; and the Hamad bin Khalifa Islamic Art Symposium.
About the Embassy of Italy in Doha
The Embassy of Italy in Doha is particularly active in the promotion of the Italian culture in the fields of art, design, music, cinema, language, lifestyle and cuisine, as part of its mandate to contribute to strengthen bilateral relations with the State of Qatar. Cultural and public diplomacy are at the core of its activities to encourage growing contacts between Italian and Qatari peoples and with the international community based in the multicultural city of Doha. Events and initiatives – in cooperation with Qatari Authorities, local cultural institutions and other Countries’ diplomatic missions – are organized in order to build solid and enduring bonds of friendship among communities and support social development.
Qatar Foundation – Unlocking Human Potential
Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development (QF) is a private, non-profit organization that is supporting Qatar on its journey from carbon economy to knowledge economy by unlocking human potential, for the benefit of not only Qatar, but the world. Founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Father Amir, QF is chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.
QF’s work encompasses education, research and community development. World-class universities are brought to Qatar to help create an education sector in which young people can develop the attitudes and skills required for a knowledge economy. At the same time, QF builds Qatar’s innovation and technology capacity by developing and commercializing solutions through key sciences. The Foundation also works to foster a progressive society while enhancing cultural life, protecting Qatar’s heritage and addressing immediate social needs in the community.
