Il photojournalism is a profession far from simple and safe. Surely this was known by the Russian Andrei Stenin, who died in 2014 at the age of 34 while documenting the war in Ukraine. Stenin has worked for various Russian and international news agencies, including Rossija Segodnja, RIA Novosti, Kommersant, ITAR-TASS, Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
The international photojournalism competition named after him, organized by the "Rossiya Segodnya" media group under the aegis of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, was therefore born with the aim of supporting young photographers from all over the world and attracting public interest in the tasks of photojournalism.
The 2020 winners are young photographers from Russia, Germany, Spain, Italy, India, Iran, South Africa, Turkey, Bangladesh, Belarus, France, USA, China, Great Britain, Hungary, Brazil, Austria and Argentina.
There are four sections, each of which is in turn divided into a single work and a series: Main news, Sport, My planet and Portrait. A hero of our time.
In all the winning works there is a high aesthetic level that is close to painting: through the aesthetic sense, the young photojournalists try to give voice and meaning to the most significant problems of modern life, from social and political conflicts to issues related to 'ecology. According to them, it is precisely in beauty that a great humanitarian spirit capable of saving the world is hidden.
In the "Top News" category the heartbreaking shot by the English photographer Lynzy Billing, “Down justice”, in which the body of Ferdinand Santos (killed on January 14, 2019) floats like a Christ under a bridge in Tondo, Manila, weighed down by a full bucket, deserved first place concrete with chains; and the series "Attack at the DusitD2 hotel", by the Spanish Luis Tato, which documents in a concise but strong way the tragic events that took place in the hotel complex in Nairobi in January 2019.
The photograph "A life on the edge" by the Calcutta repoter Sumit Sanyal, which immortalizes in an almost pictorial and documentary way the inhabitants of the island of Mousuni, in which the sea is gradually eroding the mainland, was elected as the best single image in the category "My planet". In this category, the one on the chronicles of the city of Vorkuta, "The capital of a vanishing world" by the Russian Sergei Parshukov, was chosen as the best series.
In the "Sports" category the phantasmagoria by the photographer Sebnem Coskun (Turkey), whose heroine is the Turkish free diver Sahika Ercumen, immortalized during a training session in the Gilindire cave in the south of the country, and the series by journalist Pavel Volkov on Alexei Talai, who miraculously survived as a child to a fire caused by an artillery shell, and who throughout his life was an example of incredible fortitude and the will to overcome difficulties.
In the category "Portrait. A hero of our time", the first places went to photojournalists from Russia and Italy. In the single photos section, the shot by Russian Yury Smityuk "Wrangel Island" won, in which the hero is the scientific collaborator of the protected oasis Pavel Kulemeyev, taken "in the natural environment of life". Among the stories, the most voted was the narration of the Italian journalist Danilo Garcia Di Meo “Quatrani. The children of the earthquake” on the young inhabitants of L'Aquila, whose unity and identity was strongly influenced by the earthquake that occurred during their childhood.
The complete list of winners of 2020 is published on the site stenincontest.ru/stenincontest.com
As per tradition, special prizes have been instituted as part of the competition; in the 2020 edition, works went to three categories: “Main news”, “My planet” and “Portrait. A hero of our time”. The partners of these categories were the media of global importance such as the Shanghai United Media Group (SUMG), the Internet portal of the newspaper "China Daily", the Arab media holding Al Mayadeen TV, as well as one of the largest humanitarian organizations on the planet, the Committee International Red Cross (ICRC).
The best entries by our partners were the single photograph “Downtown Justice” by Lynzy Billing (UK) and the series “Ebola: Democratic Republic of the Congo” by John Wessels (South Africa), which received the special prize “For humanitarian photography” of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the “Top News” category.
The single image “Black tide in Brazil” by photojournalist Leonardo Malafaia Alves (Brazil) won the special prize of Al Mayadeen TV in the category “Top News”; the photograph “A life on the edge” by journalist Sumit Sanyal (India) was awarded the victory by the Shanghai United Media Group in the category “My planet”; finally, in the category “Portrait. A hero of our time”, the special prize was awarded by the Internet portal of the newspaper “China Daily” to the series “Quatrani. The children of the earthquake” by Danilo Garcia Di Meo (Italy).
As per tradition, the Stenin competition will begin the international exhibition tour of the winners' works, as soon as the restrictions on travel due to the pandemic are eased. Until then, the photographs of the winners of the 2020 edition can be viewed online, on the virtual gallery platform (https://www.kunstmatrix.com/en/stenin-contest) and on the resources of the competition partners.
About the contest
International photojournalism competition named after Andrei Stenin, organized by the Rossiya Segodnya media group under the auspices of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, aims to support young photographers and attract public interest on the tasks of photojournalism.
About the project
CASCINA ROMA PHOTOGRAPHY is a project created by the Progetto Immagine Photographic Group, creator of the Festival of Ethical Photography, in collaboration with the Municipality of San Donato Milanese. Starting from autumn 2018 until December 2021, Cascina Roma is transformed into an international center dedicated to photography, a place to deepen the culture of the image. 3 years and 2 important exhibitions a year to which are added photographic workshops every six months, photography courses, thematic meetings and an "Educational" project, which aims to involve citizens and, in particular, first and second secondary schools degree.
For information: Alberto Prina tel. +39.3883638088 INFO@CASCINAROMAFOTOGRAFIA.IT
To stay updated and for more information visit: www.cascinaromafotografia.it
