World Press Photo winners on show in Barcelona

Barcelona (ACN).- The 143 pictures that won the last World Press Photo contest –the main photojournalism event at international level, which is held each September in Perpignan (French Catalonia) – will be on show at the Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB). The Photographic Social Vision foundation, which is in charge of the creation, production and promotion of photojournalism and documentaries, launched this week the ninth edition of the ‘World Press Photo’ exhibition. The images presented to the public were taken in 2012 throughout the world and they won the prestigious international photojournalism award a month and a half ago. In this year’s edition, visitors can see the photos of Spanish winners Bernat Armangué, Emilio Morenatti, Daniel Ochoa de Olza, Pep Bonet and Miquel Dewever. This exhibition - called “Face reality”- can be seen in the Catalan capital from the 6^th of November to the 8^th of December 2013.

Silvia Omedes, Director of Photographic Social Vision, said the exhibition was “the best opportunity to see the state of the world through the best photographs taken in 2012”. She explained that all 143 photographs “were winners” and that the exhibition knew how to “recognise the great quality of subjects and the photographers’ talent”. “This is an opportunity to keep oneself informed and to introduce different points of views” she added.

Omedes underlined the great diversity of pictures exhibited but she also acknowledged that this year, visitors would see many photos of Syria and Gaza , alongside pictures of nature and sport. “It is an exhibition for all the family but some chapters can be a bit harsh” she said. She also explained the exhibition was “an opportunity to have more information and to create a better awareness about the world we live in and about ourselves”. “We hope that visitors will leave better-informed, moved, and wondering about the world we live in” she stated.

The winners chosen among more than 100,000 picture taken by over 5,000 photojournalists

In 2012, 5,666 photographers of 124 different nationalities competed in the contest. 103,481 photos were classified into eight categories: News, Current Issues, Contemporary Issues, Daily Life, People and their environment, People-Portraits, Nature and Sports. This year’s first-prize photograph was taken by Swedish photographer Paul Hansen: the image immortalises the bodies of two young children in Gaza in their relatives’ arms.

Among other winners are Bernard Armangué for his pictures in Gaza, Emilio Morenatti for his photo of the general strike of the 29^th of March 2012 in Barcelona, ​​Daniel Ochoa de Olza for his portrayal of the matador Juan José Padilla – who returned to being a bullfighter despite losing sight in one eye and suffering from partial paralysis. The exhibition will also feature the winners of the multimedia category, which was created in 2011. This year Pep Bonet was awarded for his short-film Into the shadows and Miquel Dewever-Plana and Isabelle Fougère for their documentary Alma, a Tale of Violence.