The Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism Award was created by the eponymous Foundation in 2009 to support photojournalists. With a grant worth 50,000€, the Award is designed to finance thematic stories inspired by current events. Those stories are then honored with an exhibition and monograph, with four prints going to the Foundation’s collection.

Each year the Foundation selects an underexploited theme from recent current events. The theme is then explored individually by participating photographers either politically, economically, socially or culturally. A jury comprised of photo and geopolitical experts presided over by Alain Genestar, Editor in Chief of Polka magazine, select the thematic project. “Our methods must clearly coincide with the humanistic tradition of questioning reality with sensitivity, avoiding caricature and the tyranny of the snapshot, a study of the context and an approach to the situation to portray reality in its complexity.”

Of the 35 entries submitted, 10 were short listed for their pertinence and originality, their approach and the author’s ability to convey images with meaning.

The first round of eliminations left three finalists: Italian photographer Massimo Berruti, Alfonso Moral of Spain, and British-born Simon Norfolk.

Massimo Berruti was named Laureate of the second edition of the Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism award on October 26, 2010. The jury defended their choice, emphasizing that “tenacity and character made Massimo Berruti the strongest candidate to cover the selected news project with the experience and knowledge of the geographical location.”

Award results remained secret until now for security reasons given that the selected news theme was the strategic zone located between Afghanistan and Pakistan and known as Pachtounistan.

The winner was selected to cover events in the Swat valley (in the province of Khyber Pakhtonkhawa) observing the daily lives of the Lashkars, the civil forces engaged in fighting with the help of the Pakistani army.

These areas close to the tribal zones are now in the spotlight after Osama Bin Laden’s death. Massimo Berruti worked on his story from January through April, 2011.

Born in Rome in 1979 and based in Islamabad, (Pakistan’s capital), this 31-year old photographer has, since his first story about Pakistani elections in 2008, been documenting the Pakistani fight for independence. He has been a member of the Agence ’Vu since 2007 and currently lives in Pakistan.

His story “Bloodbath in Karachi, (programmed murders)” was awarded second place in 2011 by World Press and third place by “Picture Of the Year international”, following an Excellence prize in 2010. In 2009 his work was honored with the “Young reporter” prize at the Visa pour lʼImage festival.

This project will be exposed at the Chapelle des Beaux Arts of Paris from November 3 through December 3, 2011.

In 2009, German photographer Kai Wiedenhöfer was named winner of the first edition of the Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism prize, about the Gaza strip.

Bernard Perrine
Bernard.Perrine1@orange.fr