From 2022, in order to avoid geographical disproportion, the competition is held in two stages, with all photographers divided into six regions: Europe, Africa, Asia, North and Central America, South America, Southeast Asia and Oceania. In each part of the world, the winners are selected in four categories: “Individual works”, “Stories”, “Long-term projects”, “Open format”.
Photo by Leon Neal/2024 World Press Photo Contest/”The followingmath of the attack on the Supernova festival”
This year, 61,062 photos were submitted to the competition, taken by 3,851 photographers from 130 countries.
This year’s winners include 24 projects, six more works were awarded an incentive prize.
Mustafa Hassouna/2024 World Press Photo Contest photo/”Israeli airstrikes in Gaza”
Two works are singled out in the “Special Mention” category: the authors of both talk regarding the conflict in the Middle East. One photograph documents the year 2023. October 7 events in which members of the Hamas group attacked Israel. Another work depicts the consequences of Israel’s escalating military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Vincent Haiges/2024 World Press Photo Contest photo/”Coming home from war”
Climate change and the family are among the most important topics
Quite a lot in 2024. The works selected by the jury of the regional stage of the competition tell regarding the effects of climate change and the struggle of environmental activists demanding greater attention to nature protection. What is irretrievably lost forever due to climate change did not slip past the eyes of the photographers.
Another important theme, reflected in all regions of the world, is the family and human relationships. Such social problems as the fight once morest dementia and cancer, painful losses and traumas caused by conflicts and various disasters dominate here.
According to Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of the World Press Photo Foundation, she was personally most impressed by photographer Mohammed Salem’s photograph of Ina Abu Maamar holding the body of her niece Sali, who was killed by an Israeli rocket in their home in the Gaza Strip.
Mohammed Salem/2024 World Press Photo Contest photo/”Palestinian woman hugs her niece’s body”
“When I saw this picture, I knew it was a very important picture. The photographer took it just a few days following becoming a father himself – this circumstance gives the work a special meaning,” Jumana El Zein Khoury told Deutsche Velle.
Special attention is paid to the war in Ukraine
Between 2024 the winners of the regional stage include two projects dedicated to the war in Ukraine. This year, the jury drew attention to the work of the German photographer Johanna Maria Fritz, which documents the destruction of the Kachovka hydroelectric power station by Russian soldiers and the consequences of this crime. The work was chosen as the best in the category “Europe. Photo report”.
Photo by Johanna Maria Fritz/2024 World Press Photo Contest/”Kachovka Dam: Flooding in a War Zone”
As the executive director of the World Press Photo Foundation stated, the jury was impressed by how the environmental effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are reflected in the works of the German photographer.
In the opinion of the jury, the emotional work of the Ukrainian Yulia Kochetova stood out among the many works dedicated to the ongoing war in Ukraine. According to representatives of World Press Photo, this is a kind of interdisciplinary war diary through the eyes of a Ukrainian photographer, showing that war is also a very personal experience.
Julia Kochetova/2024 World Press Photo Contest photo/”War is personal”
This work of J. Kočetova was recognized as the best in the “Open format” category of the European region. In this category, photos are often supplemented with text, audio or video clips.
Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/2024 World Press Photo Contest/”Afghanistan on the border”
The final winners of this photo contest will be selected from the regional winners and their names will be announced on April 18.
This competition was held for the first time in 1955. Among the laureates are the works of Lithuanian photographers Antanas Ališauskas (1969), Irena Giedraitienė (1975), Valerijaus Koreškovs (1978) and Tados Kazakevičius (2020).
Adem Altan/2024 World Press Photo Contest photo/”Father’s Pain”
As two years ago, in the fall of this year “15min group” plans to bring an exhibition of the best works of “World Press Photo’ 2024” to Lithuania.
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2024-04-05 19:19:46