We are proud to introduce the nominees for the 64th World Press Photo Contest and 11th Digital Storytelling Contest - including the nominees for the World Press Photo of the Year, World Press Photo Story of the Year, World Press Photo Interactive of the Year and World Press Photo Online Video of the Year.
“The nominated images, stories and productions we introduce today present different perspectives of one of the most important years in recent history, marked by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social rights movements around the world. Amongst the nominees are remarkable stories of hope, resilience, and social change. I would like to thank the independent jury for their dedication and commitment in selecting the stories that mattered in 2020,” said Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of the World Press Photo Foundation.
Request the 2021 Contests media kit here to learn more about the nominees and download high-resolution images.
2021 Photo Contest
The 2021 World Press Photo Contest nominees are 45 photographers from 28 countries: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Iran, Ireland, Mexico, Myanmar, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United States.
The six nominees for World Press Photo of the Year are:
Emancipation Memorial Debate
Evelyn Hockstein, United States, for The Washington Post
Leaving Home in Nagorno-Karabakh
Valery Melnikov, Russia, Sputnik
The First Embrace
Mads Nissen, Denmark, Politiken/Panos Pictures
The Transition: Ignat
Oleg Ponomarev, Russia
Fighting Locust Invasion in East Africa
Luis Tato, Spain, for The Washington Post
Injured Man After Port Explosion in Beirut
Lorenzo Tugnoli, Italy, Contrasto for The Washington Post
The three nominees for World Press Photo Story of the Year are:
Those Who Stay Will Be Champions
Chris Donovan, Canada
Habibi
Antonio Faccilongo, Italy, Getty Reportage
Paradise Lost
Valery Melnikov, Russia, Sputnik
The jury also selected nominees in eight categories: Contemporary Issues, General News, Environment, Long-Term Projects, Nature, Spot News, Sports, and Portraits.
See collectionIn an unprecedented year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and social justice protests around the globe, the nominees share a diversity of interpretations and perspectives to these and other urgent issues such as the climate crisis, transgender people's rights, and territorial conflicts.
2021 Photo Contest entries
The World Press Photo Contest recognizes the best visual journalism of the last year, rewarding images and stories in eight categories. This year, 4,315 photographers from 130 countries have entered 74,470 images. This is an increase from 2020, when 4,282 photographers from 125 countries entered 73,996 images.
Rodrigo Orrantia, curator and 2021 Photo Contest jury member, said about this year’s entries: “I think what stood out the most was the variety of approaches to visual storytelling. Photographers in general, but specifically photojournalists and press photographers, are discovering new ways of telling stories visually. Some entries stood out because their visual language was really sophisticated, which is a very exciting change from the classic press photography tradition.”
Jury
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the judging of the 2021 Photo Contest took place entirely online. The judging process for the 2021 Photo Contest involved seven specialized juries and a general jury. The judging process involves several rounds over a six-week period, from 16 January to 23 February 2021.
Seven independent specialist juries first shortlisted entries in eight categories.
An independent General Jury, a different set of jurors consisting of the 2021 Photo Contest jury chair and six other members, then shortlisted the nominees. The General Jury comprised jury chair NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati, co-founder and director of photo.circle; Ahmed Najm, managing director of Metrography Agency; Andrei Polikanov, visual director, Takie Dela; Kathy Moran, deputy director of Photography at National Geographic; Kevin WY Lee, photographer and creative director; Mulugeta Ayene, photographer; and Pilar Olivares, photographer at Reuters.
2021 Digital Storytelling Contest
The 2021 Digital Storytelling Contest nominees are nine productions from seven countries: Australia, Chile, China, Lithuania, Spain, United States, and the Philippines.
Amongst the nominees are stories about the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, productions documenting the social justice protests around the globe and the effects of climate change, and accounts of women’s and indigenous people’s rights.
The nominees for the World Press Photo Interactive of the Year are:
Birth in the 21st Century
Barret Cooperativa/Lab RTVE/À Punt Mèdia
Reconstructing Seven Days of Protests in Minneapolis After George Floyd’s Death
Holly Bailey/The Washington Post & Matt Daniels, Amelia Wattenberger/The Pudding
Ukraine: Grey Zone
Benas Gerdziunas/Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT)
The nominees for the World Press Photo Online Video of the Year are:
A Racist Attack Was Caught on Camera. Nearly 45 Years Later, It Still Stings.
The New York Times
Blood Rider
Jon Kasbe/The New Yorker
Good Morning, My Wife in Heaven (天堂里的邓顺芝，早上好)
Yingfei Liang/Shumin Wei/Caixin
The Eternity of Tomorrow
Cristóbal Olivares/Magnum Foundation
To Calm the Pig Inside (Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos)
Old Fool Films
One other production has been withdrawn
The jury nominated the nine productions over the three categories: Interactive, Short, and Long. All productions nominated in the Interactive category are nominated for the World Press Photo Interactive of the Year. All productions nominated in the Short and Long categories are nominated for the World Press Photo Online Video of the Year. See collection
2021 Digital Storytelling Contest entries
This year, 335 productions were submitted to the contest: 84 productions in the Interactive category, 102 productions in the Long category, and 149 in the Short category.
Based on the main visual journalist, there are 54 different nationalities represented in the entries received. although the contest remains dominated by entries from Europe (32% of entries) and North & Central America (32%), entries from Southeast Asia and Oceania (10% compared to 1% in 2020), and South America (10% compared to 6% in 2020) increased significantly.
Based on the main visual journalist, as indicated on the entry, 62% identify as male (65% in 2020), 36% identify as female (32% in 2020), 1.5% prefer not to say or identify with another gender (3% in 2020). Based on the team members, 55% identify as male, 40% identify as female, 4% prefer not to say or identify with another gender.
Jury
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the judging of the 2021 World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest took place entirely online between 16 January and 8 February 2021.
An
independent jury consisting of digital storytellers and multimedia editors from around the world selected the nominated productions.
Muyi Xiao, reporter and video producer in
The New York Times Visual Investigations team, is the chair of the 2021 Digital Storytelling Contest. She was joined by six digital storytelling professionals to shortlist the nominees:
Chloe Gbai, director, IF/Then Shorts;
Fábio Erdos, filmmaker and photographer;
Frank Hulley-Jones, visual designer;
Nyasha Kadandara, journalist and filmmaker;
Nyier Abdou, video journalist, editor, and multimedia producer; and
Sanchai Chotirosseranee, deputy director, Film Archive (Public Organization) in Thailand.
Winners announced on 15 April
The winners of the 2021 Photo Contest and the 2021 Digital Storytelling Contest will be announced on 15 April during an online awards ceremony as part of the
World Press Photo Festival 2021. The World Press Photo of the Year, World Press Photo Story of the Year, World Press Photo Interactive of the Year and World Press Photo Online Video of the Year awards carry a cash prize of 5,000 euros.
The nominees in each category are published in World Press Photo’s
online collection and promoted on World Press Photo's platforms. They are also included in the annual World Press Photo Exhibition tour and featured in the
World Press Photo Yearbook. In addition, nominees are invited to the World Press Photo Festival 2021 (which will take place online in April 2021).
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
The winners of the 2021 Digital Storytelling Contest will be part of the World Press Photo Exhibition 2021 world premiere at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from 17 April - 25 July. See all upcoming exhibitions on the
calendar.
World Press Photo Yearbook 2021
The
Yearbook will showcase the most striking and compelling visual stories of 2020 with winning photography from the 2021 Photo Contest. It will be available in six languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, and Spanish, from May 2021.
For more information please contact the communications team:
