Ukrainian photographer Julia Kochetova wins World Press Photo 2024 award – photo
Ukrainian photographer Julia Kochetova has won a World Press Photo 2024 award for her project War Is Personal.
Kochetova was announced as one of the Europe category winners on the World Press Photo website.
"The emotive images make for a standout presentation amidst many entries about the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Told by a Ukrainian photographer, the jury acknowledges this story's insider-perspective, which is especially evident in the thread of visual symbolism, strong use of colour sequences, and collaborations with a Ukrainian illustrator and DJ," the judges commented.
The World Press Photo jury also noted that Kochetova's use of audio recordings, music and illustrations to complement the photographs she took during the war gave her project a film-like quality.
German photographer Johanna Maria Fritz also won in the Europe category. In June 2023, she filmed a report for Die Zeit about the aftermath of the Russian blowing up of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in Kherson Oblast.
Scandal surrounding the World Press Photo 2024 jury
In 2024, a scandal erupted around the World Press Photo jury when the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPF) demanded the exclusion of Russian representative Maria (Mary) Gelman. "Russia's unprovoked, aggressive, cruel and unjust war against Ukraine has been going on since 2014, and we believe that the participation of a representative of the Russian Federation, Maria Gelman, raises many ethical questions," the Ukrainian photographers said in their appeal.
However, the organisers of World Press Photo 2024 refused to remove Gelman from the European panel of judges. Andrew Davies, the competition's communications director, said that she had been chosen for her professionalism and expertise, and that Gelman would approach the task of judging "with care and professionalism".
About the World Press Photo Awards
World Press Photo is a competition for all professional photographers working in the field of photojournalism or documentary photography. The winners are selected annually, first at the regional and then at the global level.
This year, 24 regional winners will be announced on 3 April. Then four global winners will be selected from among them: World Press Photo of the Year, World Press Photo Story of the Year, World Press Photo Long-Term Project Award, and World Press Photo Open Format Award.
One of last year's winners was Ukrainian photographer Evgeny Maloletka for his series of photographs The Siege of Mariupol. His series was first shortlisted in the Europe category, and then one of the images – from a Mariupol maternity hospital that was bombed by the Russians – was named Photo of the Year.
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