Kate Brooks Explained

Kate Brooks
Nationality:	American
Known For:	Photography from the Middle East and Afghanistan
Notable Works:	In the Light of Darkness ^[1] The Boxing Girls of Kabul The Last Animals, documentary film (2017)
Occupation:	Filmmaker, Photojournalist

Kate Brooks (born 1977) is an American photojournalist who has covered the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan since September 11, 2001.

Biography

At age 20, while studying Russian and photography, Kate became actively involved in the plight of Russian orphans, starting a non-profit aid group to help the children at an institution outside of Moscow, while documenting their lives. The resulting photographs^[2] were published in Human Rights Watch's (HRW) report entitled "Abandoned by the State: Cruelty and Neglect in Russian Orphanages"^[3] and syndicated worldwide through Saba Press Photos. The campaign for orphans' rights galvanized global interest and raised funds to help orphaned children. She has worked as a freelance photojournalist ever since.^[4]

Immediately after the September 11 attacks, Brooks was ordered to move to Pakistan to photograph the impact of U.S. foreign policy on the region and life in post-Taliban Afghanistan. In 2003, she covered the American invasion of Iraq and the beginning of the insurgency for Time Magazine.^[5]

Since then, Brooks has continued to work across the region, photographing news and the impact of conflict on civilian populations, notably the Cedar Revolution, Pakistan earthquake,^[6] 2006 Lebanon war,^[7] Iraqi refugee exodus, clashes in Nahr al-Bared,^[8] Afghan elections,^[9] aftermath of Operation Cast Lead in Gaza,^[10] Swat Valley refugee crisis and protests in Tahrir Square.

Brooks has photographed military and political leaders such as former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for Time magazine,^[11] President Asif Ali Zardari for The New York Times Magazine, Afghan President Hamid Karzai for GQ^[12] and Time,^[13] General Stanley McChrystal for The Atlantic cover story by Robert Kaplan, King Abdullah II and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Her photographs have also appeared in The New Yorker,^[14] Smithsonian, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Vanity Fair Italy, and The Wall Street Journal^[15]

Brooks was a Knight-Wallace Fellow in Journalism in 2012–2013.^[16]

Books

• No Woman's Land: On the Frontlines with Female Reporters (2012)^[17]
• In the Light of Darkness: A Photographer’s Journey After 9/11 (2011)^[18]

Documentary films

• The Last Animals (2017)^[19] directed by Brooks was about man-caused mass animal extinction. The documentary premiered at Tribeca Film Festival^[20] where Brooks was awarded a Disruptor Award.^[21] For two years she campaigned^[22] for ivory and rhino horn bans while the film travelled the film festival circuit around the world. In 2018, The Last Animals won the Impact Award^[23] at Wildscreen^[24] in competition with Blue Planet II. In 2019 the film was broadcast globally by National Geographic,^[25] streamed on Hulu in the U.S and Netflix overseas.
• The Boxing Girls of Kabul (2011)^[26] directed by Ariel Nassar was about a group of young Afghan women dream of representing their country as boxers at the 2012 Olympics, embarking on a journey of both personal and political transformation. The film premiered at the International Documentary Film Awards^[27] in 2011, won a Canadian Screen Award and Inspirit Foundation Pluralism Prize. Brooks worked on the documentary as a contributing cinematographer and photographer.
• Kate Brooks was an Executive Producer on the documentary Tigre Gente (2021)^[28] that premiered at Tribeca Film Festival^[29] and broadcast on National Geographic^[30] in Latin America.

Awards

• Photo District News 30 Under 30 2002^[31]
• TIME Pictures of the Year 2002^[32]
• TIME Picture of the Year 2005^[33]
• Picture of the Year International 2007^[34]
• World Press Photo Masterclass 2007^[35]
• International Photography Awards 2008^[36]
• Disruptor Award 2017
• Impact Award Wildscreen 2018
• Picture of the Year International 2020^[37]

Notes and References

1. Book: In The Light Of Darkness: A Photographer's Journey After 9/11 (9789053307588): Kate Brooks: Books . 978-9053307588 . Brooks . Kate . 2011 .
2. Web site: Intro. Neon Sky Creative Media. System. Katebrooks.com. 10 March 2022.
3. Web site: Archived copy . 2011-07-19 . 2011-10-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111003191418/http://www.p-ced.com/reference/russ98d.pdf . dead .
4. Web site: Communication Arts 2009 November/December Design Annual 50 . Commerce.commarts.com . 2000-01-01 . 2011-10-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111003181446/http://www.commerce.commarts.com/shop/detail.asp?prod=ISS200911 . 2011-10-03 . dead .
5. Web site: Kate Brooks . Charlie Rose . 2003-05-26 . 2011-10-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121013052734/http://www.charlierose.com/guest/view/1921 . 2012-10-13 . dead .
6. Web site: Brooks . Kate . Open Wound . The Digital Journalist . 2005-10-08 . 2011-10-04.
7. Web site: Award of Excellence | Magazine Spot News . Poyi.org . 2011-10-04.
8. Web site: Kate Brooks . Ai-ap.com . 2011-10-04.
9. Web site: Kate Brooks . Ai-ap.com . 2009-08-16 . 2011-10-04.
10. Web site: McGirk . Tim . Voices from The Rubble . https://web.archive.org/web/20090201131259/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1874850,00.html . dead . February 1, 2009 . TIME . 2009-01-29 . 2011-10-04.
11. Web site: Baker . Aryn . Can This Man Survive? . https://web.archive.org/web/20081008010546/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,570262,00.html . dead . October 8, 2008 . TIME . 2004-01-05 . 2011-10-04.
12. Web site: Robert Draper . The Wrong Man For the Job: Newsmakers . GQ . 2009-10-13 . 2011-10-04.
13. Web site: The Lone Man Without a Gun. McGirk . Tim . TIME . July 29, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100401101159/http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/heroes/karzai.html . April 1, 2010 .
14. Johnson . Whitney . Photo Booth: Kate Brooks's Journey After 9/11 . . 2011-08-01 . 2011-10-04.
15. Web site: Cullison . Alan . Wounded Soldiers Have Increased Odds of Survival . Online.wsj.com . 2010-04-02 . 2011-10-04.
16. Bohn, John."Knight-Wallace Fellow Kate Brooks to discuss decade-long work in Middle East," The Michigan Daily (November 14, 2012).
17. Web site: No Woman's Land: On the Frontlines with Female Reporters . Amazon . 2024-06-17.
18. Book: In The Light Of Darkness: A Photographer's Journey After 9/11 . 9053307583 .
19. Web site: The Last Animals (2017) . IMDb . 2024-06-17.
20. Web site: Viewpoints: The Last Animals . Tribeca . 2024-06-17.
21. Web site: 2017 Honorees . Disruptor Awards. 2024-06-17.
22. Web site: Bills Comm on Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Bill 2017 (Pt1)(2017/09/06) . 5 September 2017 . Legislative Council of HKSAR (YouTube) . 2024-06-17.
23. Web site: "Rise of the Warrior Apes", "Blue Planet II" take Wildscreen Panda Awards. Realscreen . 2024-06-17.
24. Web site: 2018 Wildscreen Panda Award Winners Revealed . 15 August 2018 . Wildscreen . 2024-06-17.
25. Web site: National Geographic to Premiere Documentary "The Last Animals" on Earth Day . Laughing Place Disney Newsdesk . Laughing Place . 2019-04-16 . 2024-06-17.
26. Web site: The Boxing Girls of Kabul (2011) . IMDb . 2024-06-17.
27. Web site: The Boxing Girls of Kabul . IDFA Institute . 2024-06-17.
28. Web site: Tigre Gente (2021) . IMDb. 2024-06-17.
29. Web site: Tribeca World Premieres: Tigre Gente . Tribeca . 2024-06-17.
30. Web site: National Geographic Channel Acquires Latin American Rights to Elizabeth Unger's Genre Bending Wildlife Crime Documentary 'Tigre Gente' . Leo Barraclough . 24 November 2022 . Variety. 2024-06-17.
31. Web site: Kate Brooks . LinkedIn . 2024-06-17.
32. Web site: Best Photos of 2002: People . Time Magazine . 2024-06-17.
33. Web site: Best Pictures of the Year 2005 . Time Magazine . 2024-06-17.
34. Web site: Award of Excellence . Pictures of the Year International.
35. Web site: Joop Swart Masterclass alumni 1994-2024 . World Press Photo . 2024-06-17.
36. Web site: IPA Winners . International Photography Awards.
37. Web site: Award of Excellence . Pictures of the Year International.