The Visa d’or News, the most prestigious prize of the Visa pour l’image international photojournalism festival, was awarded in Perpignan on Saturday September 9 to Siegfried Modola, for his work on the Karen rebellion against the Burmese junta. Siegfried Modola, an Italian-British photographer, first thanked “the people who allowed us to tell their stories” in this report entitled “The armed revolution in Burma”, which took two years of work and was published by the Canadian newspaper Globe
Other nominees were Michael Bunel (Le Pictorium) for “Search, Rescue and Protect,” about the work of NGOs rescuing people in exile crossing the Mediterranean, and Tyler Hicks (The New York Times) for “Bakhmout, a City at War “, in Ukraine. Last year, the Visa d’or News rewarded Ukrainian photographer Evgeniy Maloletka (Associated Press, AP) for his reporting in bombed-out Mariupol.
Burma had already been in 2021 at the heart of the Visa d’or News which, for the first time, rewarded a photographer who remained anonymous for security reasons, for his images of “The Spring Revolution” in his country.
This 35th edition of Visa highlighted the impact of human activity on the planet and the climate, the theme of numerous exhibitions, but also the perilous routes of exile and therefore Ukraine.
Tyler Hicks received the Golden Visa from the daily press for his work in Bakhmut, a city emblematic of Ukrainian resistance to the invasion by Russia. And the France Info Digital Information Golden Visa went to Virginie Nguyen Hoang for her web documentary “Life under the fire of war” on the daily lives of Ukrainians, broadcast by La Libre Belgique.
The work of Ebrahim Noroozi (AP) in Afghanistan, entitled “The saddest country in the world and the worst country for women”, received the Golden Visa magazine.
The Humanitarian Golden Visa from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) rewarded Federico Rios Escobar for his reports, published in the New York Times, on the hell of Darién, an inextricable jungle between Colombia and Panama, which migrants wishing to reach the United States cross.
Twenty-four exhibitions
The Honorary Golden Visa from Figaro Magazine, honoring the career of an active photographer, distinguished Noël Quidu, who since the 1980s has covered multiple conflicts.
The Golden Visa of the City of Perpignan/Rémi Ochlik went to Emily Garthwaite (Institute) for “Didjla: journey along the Tigris”, in Iraq.
The festival also focused on the revolts in Iran with, for the first time, a collective exhibition of anonymous people because “it is no longer possible to work”, to identify yourself as a photographer in this country, specified its director, Jean-François Leroy, to Agence France-Presse.
Visa, which began on September 2, offered free screenings, meetings with photographers and discussions during this professional week. Its 24 exhibitions remain open to the public until the 17th.