Frightened children block their ears as people scramble to flee the city of Aaitaroun, where over one hundred people have been trapped by the bombing and damaged roads. (Lebanon, August 1, 2007)
Now in its nineteenth year, Visa pour l’Image is an absolute must see for anyone seriously interested in photojournalism. As always, the festival will take place in Perpignan on the 1st – 16th of September 2007. The professional week runs from the 3rd - 9th. Nowhere else can you not only see such a wide variety of work, but also chat to fellow photographers and industry professionals in a relaxed and sunny environment. Visa will also showcase a number of exhibitions in beautiful surroundings, and free events to take part in such as meetings, conferences, symposiums and photographic awards.
Of the thirty or so exhibitions, as always there are some real gems. It is, of course, very much personal preference, but if you only have time to see a few, those of Dennis Stock, Tyler Hicks and Dirck Halstead should be high on your list. When you think of Dennis Stock you automatically think of his iconic images of James Dean. But there is so much more to discover. Classic Americana, hippies and flower power, Easy Rider, and Hells Angels are all in his repertoire. Tyler Hicks started in a modest way on the Troy Daily News in Ohio, but graduated through to The New York Times where he has been a staffer for the last five years. Noted for his work on the atrocities in Kosovo, he has been photographing Afghanistan since 2001. And, of course, Dirck Halstead is a living legend. Now 71, at age 17, he became Life magazine’s youngest combat photographer covering the Guatemalan Civil War. He then went on to work for UPI for more than 15 years, being their picture bureau chief in Saigon during the Vietnam War. Returning to the US, in 1972 he accepted a contract with Time magazine covering the White House for the next 29 years, the period from Nixon to Clinton. This show is a retrospective from Vietnam to the White House and definitely not to be missed.
Perpignan also plays host to evening shows. The program will begin with a chronological review of the news stories from the previous year, two months at a time. These evening shows will be followed by reports and features on social issues, war, stories that make the news and others that are kept quiet, and various observations on the state of the world today.
Awards always create buzz and controversy and have become a major part of the Visa experience. Similar to the Oscars and the Cannes Film Festival, Visa has its own “best of the best” award, the Visa d’or. Every year since 1990, the award has been given for the best reportage published in the daily press and nominated by the leading picture editors from around the world. Almost equally prestigious is the Canon Female Photojournalist Award. The 2007 winner is Axelle de Russ from Abaca in France, and past winners have included such notables as Ami Vitale and Vronique de Viguerie.
Each year Director General of Visa, Jean-Franois LeRoy, has a goal and this year’s aim is to find a way out of the tendency to “celebritize” news. He wants to provoke a response to show that photographers are still around, and that they are not all doing portraiture.
Perpignan in early September must be experienced at least once in the life of any serious photographer. Whether or not you are into photojournalism, there are few other places where you can see so much great photography in one location.
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