Canon and Visa pour l’Image celebrate 35th anniversary of long-standing partnership

DUBAI — This September, Canon  will be championing the work of photojournalists for the 35th consecutive year, as part of its decades-long partnership with Visa pour l’Image. During the festival’s Pro Week (September 2-7), held in Perpignan in the south of France, Canon will honour the craft of documentary storytelling, awarding two project grants and providing a cohort of 25 young emerging talent with access to the festival through the brand’s Student Development Programme.

Canon to recognise outstanding contributions to photojournalism with two grants 
For the 24th year in a row, Canon and Visa pour l’Image will award an €8,000 grant to a female photojournalist pursuing a long-term documentary project. This year, the jury – consisting of journalists and editors from CNN Digital, FOAM magazine and others – have chosen to award Dutch photojournalist Cynthia Boll for her ongoing project ‘Reshaping home: Indonesia’s capital migration’ with the Canon Female Photojournalist Grant. 

The Indonesian capital is sinking fast, up to 20 centimetres per year due to deep ground water extraction. Home to 10 million people and still growing, authorities have made the decision to move Indonesia’s capital from Jakarta to the emerging city of Ibu Kota Nusantara – a monumental endeavour with far-reaching implications. With the support from the grant, Cynthia hopes to document the routines and rituals of daily life in the new city from the perspective of these pioneering citizens.

Alongside this, Canon together with Visa pour l’Image are pleased to be presenting London-based filmmaker Alan Lau with the 5th Canon Video Grant for his short-film documentary project ‘The Gordian Knot”, shining a light on young Nepali cattle facing the fate of slaughter – and the surrounding influences of authorities, religion and economic pressures in a developing region.

Paving the way for the next generation of photojournalists 
Canon is committed to supporting and nurturing new talent, and for the 8th consecutive year will be providing emerging photographers from across Europe, Middle East and Africa with a unique opportunity to develop skills and advance in their careers as part of its acclaimed Student Development Programme. 25 talented photography students will attend a prestigious five-day workshop to network with and learn from prominent professionals during group as well as 1:1 portfolio review sessions, practical workshops and lectures.

This year’s speakers and reviewers include Canon Ambassadors Laura El-Tantawy (British/ Egyptian documentary photographer), Elisa L. Iannacone (cinematographer and journalist), Marco Longari (Chief Photographer in Africa for AFP), Ilvy Njiokiktjien (member of VII Photo Agency), Brent Stirton (Getty Images Senior Correspondent and National Geographic explorer) and Paolo Verzone (member of Agence VU’). A cohort of industry experts will also be present, including Thomas Borberg (staff photographer at Politiken), Fabiola Ferrero (photojournalist and World Press Photo contest winner), Elisa Medde (curator / former Editor-in-Chief at Foam Magazine), Massimo Nicolaci (filmmaker, cinematographer and National Geographic contributor) as well as Fiona Shields (Head of Photography at The Guardian).

Following the workshops, students will have the opportunity to participate in a selection of guided tours of the festival’s exhibition space, hosted by the artists themselves. 2023 Canon Female Photojournalist grant winner, Anastasia Taylor-Lind, will also showcase her grant winning work, ‘5K from the Frontline’, documenting frontline communities in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

Canon presence at Visa pour l’Image
At the festival’s headquarters in Perpignan’s Palais des Congrès, Canon will be hosting a dedicated product showcase area inviting visitors to experience the company’s latest cameras, lenses and printers, including the highly anticipated EOS R1 and EOS R5 Mark II.

Exploring the emotional impact of print and its potential to enrich lives, guests can also learn more about Canon’s ‘World Unseen’ initiative with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), enabling people with sight loss to better engage with the visual world, while challenging sighted people to see imagery through their lens.

Accredited photographers will also be able to get an image from their portfolio printed on Canon’s latest fine art printing technologies and receive a complimentary check-and-clean service by expert technicians from Canon Professional Services (CPS).