Awards
AFP Rewarded Twice at the Prix Varenne 2020
Amongst the 148 photos received for this new edition of the Prix Varenne, the Jury rewarded, Wednesday February 17, 2021, the work of two AFP photographers: Kenzo Tribouillard, National Press Award and Leo Malafaia, International Award.
National Press Award: Kenzo Tribouillard (AFP)
A photographer for AFP for the past 15 years, Kenzo Tribouillard arrived at the Brussels bureau in the summer of 2019, several months before the turmoil of the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Exemplifying the Agency’s values, Kenzo has tried to convey the local specificities of this international story by going out and spending long periods of time in hospitals, urgent care centres and retirement homes.
As a result, he was exposed to the often dark daily lives of suffering patients, valiant but exhausted carers, and overworked funeral directors.
When, at the end of April 2020, he had the opportunity report on a 100-year-old woman being discharged from a Covid unit, Tribouillard finally experienced a glimmer of hope in a daily life that had been, and still is in great need of some good news.
29/04/2020 - SERAING, BELGIUM - Medical workers clap as 100-year-old Belgian patient Julia Dewilde leaves the Bois de l'Abbaye hospital (CHBA) in Seraing, after being succesfully treated for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, on April 29, 2020. © KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
International Award: Leo Malafaia (AFP)
AFP freelance photographer, Leo Malafaia, 30, is originally from Pernambuco, a coastal region in north-east Brazil that has become the symbol of the population's struggle against an oil spill of unknown origin that contaminated 2,000 km of coastline in October 2019.
The photograph by Leonardo Malafaia, winner of the Prix Varenne International, opened the world’s eyes to the scale of this environmental crisis.
"In many ways, these beaches are an integral part of our identity. It's sad to see these stains. I grew up on this coast, my grandfather was a fisherman. They are our beaches, but the spill also affects the lives of hundreds of people who will be paying for the consequences of this unfortunate event for years to come. All this is revolting".
21/10/19 - CABO DE SANTO AGOSTINHO, BRAZIL - A teenager, Everton Miguel dos Anjos, emerges from the dark water on Itapuama beach in Cabo de Santo Agostinho with his torso covered with a large plastic bag stained with oil. In his expression: dejection. This 13-year-old boy just wanted to help his mother, Ivaneide Maria de Oliveira, owner of a café on the beach. © LEO MALAFAIA / AFP
Blog Correspondent: "Black tide in Brazil", by Mauro Pimentel
The Jury
- Marielle EUDES - Director of Photography at Agence France-Presse;
- Roch LORENTE - Channel manager at Canon France- President of the jury;
- Férit DUZYIOL - Journalist;
- Franck SEGUIN - Winner of the Varenne-Canon Photo Competition in 2019;
- Pierrick DELOBELLE - Winner of the Varenne-Canon Photo Competition in 2019;
- Michel WASIELEWSKI - Photojournalist, adviser at the Varenne Foundation;
- Pascal CHAREYRON - Photojournalist, adviser at the Varenne Foundation;
- Thierry LINDAUER - Photojournalist, Head of Photography for the newspaper La Montagne;
- Jean Louis BELTRAN - Photojournalist, adviser at the Varenne Foundation.