Filmmaker Isabel Coixet presents exhibition at Roca Lisboa Gallery

Created by the award-winning Catalan filmmaker Isabel Coixet, Aral - The Lost Sea is a faithful and moving documentary about one of the worst ecological disasters in human history. The exhibition can be seen at Roca Lisboa Gallery until April 28

th.

Lisbon, February 9

th, 2012 – The Aral Sea, situated in Central Asia, on the borders between Kazakhstan and

Uzbekistan, was once the fourth largest salt water lake in the world, but human interference has almost made it vanish, reducing its volume of water by 80%. This exhibition, the work of award-winning Catalan filmmaker Isabel Coixet, is a faithful and thought-provoking synthesis of one of the greatest environmental catastrophes in the history of mankind. «With this initiative that we have developed in partnership with the We Are Water foundation, Roca aims to draw the public's attention to one of the most serious ecological disasters that has ever happened. These attacks on the environment can not be forgotten and, above all, can never be repeated. Securing the future of the planet depends on each and every one of us. Roca has taken on this commitment in all senses of the word, at corporate, social and cultural levels. Isabel Coixet’s exhibition is, within this context, a valuable contribution», says Jorge Vieira, Roca S.A. managing director. Constituting a visual synthesis of scenes from the past and the reality of the present, the display shows the causes and consequences of the drying up and contamination of the Aral Sea. «It provides us with the opportunity to reflect on the bad management of water resources. Water is vital for economic and social development, but it is not within the reach of everyone», explains the filmmaker. Designed by architect Makoto Fukuda, and featuring photographs by Jordi Azategui, Aral - The Lost Sea will be on display at Roca Lisboa Gallery from February 9

th until April 28th, and is accompanied by the supporting documentary of the same name by the Catalan filmmaker. Isabel Coixet invites visitors to set out in search of the Aral Sea: «It used to appear as a cobalt-blue swathe on maps hung on classroom walls in our schools years ago. A mass of water that became increasingly smaller and smaller…. Until one day the blue mark had become a shadow of what it once had been».

Isabel Coixet Throughout her career, Isabel Coixet has produced documentaries about subjects of great importance. Worth highlighting are Listening to the Judge (2010), about the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, who became famous because of his tireless fight against crime, terrorism and corruption; Invisibles (2007), about the work of the international organization Doctors without Borders; and Journey to the Heart of Torture (2003), on the rehabilitation of torture victims, in Sarajevo and Bosnia-Herzegovina. We Are Water foundation Promoting a new water culture and acting against the negative effects from a lack of water resources are the main aims to the We Are Water foundation. Launched by Roca in September 2010, the foundation has participated in building infrastructure and has supported education, health and research projects in the poorest parts of the world, in partnership with different NGO’s. www.wearewater.org

Roca Roca is the world leader in defining bathroom spaces and is a strong reference in the world of design. The company is currently in 135 countries and has 69 production facilities spread over five continents. Roca’s position as a world leader is reflected in the creation of highly versatile products that can easily be adapted to satisfy consumer habits globally, ones which offer customised solutions to meet all demands. At Roca, in a process of continual research, design and innovation work hand-in-hand to create a common future of comfort and wellbeing. Thanks to its efforts, Roca is the brand of reference worldwide in the creation of bathroom spaces. www.roca.com Press contacts Roca: Joana Pinheiro, joana.pinheiro@buss.pt, +351 261938487, +351 936892346