Usuario:SaraCoelho25/taller

Biography

Cesar Dezfuli, born in 1991 in Madrid, Spain, in a context of cultural mixture given his Spanish-Iranian origins, is a journalist and documentary photographer whose work often explores themes related to migration, identity, and human rights.

Education

Self-taught in photography and having learned his trade as a journalist in various newsrooms. Recently, he has graduated from Jorunalism at Rey Juan Carlos University (Madrid) with an special award.

Trajectory

Dezfuli’s assignments and personal projects have taken him to document different realities worldwide, from covering the elections in Kenya, Rwanda and Kosovo, to documenting families which have gone against China's one-child policy. Since 2015, his focus has been on the migrant crisis at the borders of Europe, with a special focus on the Central Mediterranean migration route.

He is a frequent contributor to De Volkskrant and Le Monde newspapers, while his work has been published in various international media such as The Guardian, Time, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Aljazeera or the BBC.

Outstanding artistic work

In 2016, Dezfuli began working on his most renowned project, "Passengers," with which he aims to question the visual representation of migration.

On 1 August 2016, a boat bound for Italy carrying 118 people was found drifting off the coast of Libya. It was one of many boats that attempted the crossing that year, one small part of a larger wave of migration from Africa to Europe that is usually reported in European news media as a humanitarian crisis represented in abstract figures. Who are the individuals behind those numbers and what happens to them after their arrival in Europe? In an attempt to answer this queation and put name and face to this reality, César Dezfuli carry out the project portraiting all the people who traveled on board at the same boat, taken minutes after their rescue and has continued in contact with them with the intention of showing the narrative and experiential diversity of the migratory experience: some find a sense of place, some a provisional home, and others are still adrift, questioning their decision to leave.

In a visual challenge that questions the parameters of migratory photojournalism and human rights, the author has made with 'Passengers' a project that t go beyond the numbers, depicting deeply individual trajectories and diverse personal struggles.

Prizes and awards

He has received several awards and grants including the World Press Photo, the Pictures of the Year International, the Sony World Photography Awards, the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize or the Catchlight Fellowship, among others. Chronologically we can find:

2023. World Press Photo 2023. Open Format category. European region. Winner.

2023. European Press Prize. Migration Journalism Award. Winner.

2023. Felix Schoeller Photo Award 2023. Finalist.

2023. Sony World Photography Awards. Landscape category. Shortlisted.

2022. Kolga Tbilisi Photo Contest.Georgia. Finalist.

2022. European Contemporary Photography Contest. ‘¿Y mañana?’. EFTI, Goethe Institut and Alliance Française. Spain. Finalist.

2020. INJUVE Award for Photojournalism 2020. Spain.

2020. Catchlight Fellowship recipient 2020.

2020. SONY World Photography Awards. Portrait category. First Prize

2020. Premio Luchetta of Journalism. Italy. Finalist.

2020. Tim Hetherington Trust. UK. Finalist.

2019. Visa d’or Franceinfo: Award for the Best Digital News Story. Visa Pour L´Image. Perpignan, France. Special Mention of the Jury.

2019. Visa d’or de la Presse Quotidienne. Visa Pour L´Image. France. Nominated.

2019. ‘Portrait of Humanity’ Award. British Journal of Photography. UK. Selected.

2019. Bird and Flight Awards. Ukraine. Finalist.

2019. Premio Luis Valtueña de Fotografía Humanitaria. Spain. First finalist.

2018. Joop Swart Masterclass, World Press Photo Academy. Nominated.

2018. Lens Culture Exposure Awards. First Prize.

2018. Pictures of the Year International (POY) Awards. Portrait Category. Third Prize.

2018. Prix ANI-PixPalace at Visa Pour L´Image. Perpignan, France. Selected.

2018. Hellerau Portrait Awards. Dresden, Germany. Second Prize.

2018. Photon Festival Grant. Valencia, Spain. Finalist.

2018. Signo Editores Awards. Madrid, Spain. Finalist.

2018. Balkan Photo Festival. Sarajevo, Bosnia I Herzegovina. Finalist.

2017. Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize. London, UK. First Prize.

2017. Head On Photo Festival Portrait Awards. Sydney, Australia. First Prize.

2017. Pictures of the Year Latin America - Nuestra Mirada (POY LATAM). First Prize.

2017. Joop Swart Masterclass, World Press Photo Academy. Nominated.

2017. Dart Center Rory Peck Trust Grant for Hostile Environment Training. Columbia Journalism School. New York, USA.

2017. Chromatic Photographer of the Year 2017.

2017. Moscow Photo Awards. Conflict category. Moscow, Russia. Third Prize.

2017. Finalist British Journal of Photography Breakthrough Awards 2017.

2017. Indian Photo Festival. Delhi, India. Selected.

2017. Prix ANI-PixPalace at Visa Pour L´Image. Perpignan, France. Selected.

2017. IPOTY - International Photographer of the Year Awards. Portrait. Second Prize.

2017. ASISA Photography contest. Spain. Finalist.

2017. The Independent Photographer Awards. UK. Finalist.

2017. Kaunas Photo Festival. Kaunas, Lithuania. Finalist.

2017. Roberto Villagraz Scholarship, EFTI Photography School. Madrid, Spain. Finalist.

2017. Monochrome Photography Awards. Photojournalism. Honourable Mention.

2016. Photo Contest “Día de la Discapacidad Leganes”. Madrid, Spain. Finalist.

2016. Descubrimientos Photo España, Festival Internacional PhotoEspaña. Selected.

2015. Prix ANI-PixPalace at Visa Pour L´Image. Perpignan, France. Selected.

Exhibitions

2023. ‘Passengers’. Felix Schoeller Photo Award 2023. Museumsquartier Osnabruck. Germany.

2023. ‘Passengers’. World Press Photo 2023 flagship exhibition. De Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

2023. ‘Gone with the lava’. Sony World Photography Awards 2023. Somerset House. London, UK.

2022. ‘Passengers’. Fotonoviembre.Salón Internacional de Fotografía. Matanzas, Cuba.

2022. ‘The Change We Want to See’. Outdoor. By Catchlight, Dysturb, Fondation Carmignac and Photo Saint Germain. Paris, France.

2022. ‘Passengers’. European Contemporary Photography Contest. ‘¿Y mañana?’. Goethe Institut Madrid. Spain.

2022. ‘Passengers’. Contemporary African Prize exhibition. Rieterpark, Museum Rietberg. Zurich, Switzerland.

2022. 25th Anniversary of the Luis Valtueña International Photography Award, by Doctors of the World. Cervantes Institute. Dakar, Senegal.

2022. 25th Anniversary of the Luis Valtueña International Photography Award, by Doctors of the World. Outdoor. Madrid, Spain.

2022. 25th Anniversary of the Luis Valtueña International Photography Award, by Doctors of the World. Outdoor. Navia, Spain.

2022. 25th Anniversary of the Luis Valtueña International Photography Award, by Doctors of the World. Outdoor. Avilés, Spain.

2021. ‘Passengers’. Contemporary African Prize exhibition. Art Basel. Basel, Switzerland.

2020. ‘Banjul to Biella’. Luis Valtueña Awards. Factoría Cultural de Avilés. Spain.

2020. ‘Banjul to Biella’. Luis Valtueña Awards. Biblioteca Jordi Rubió i Balaguer, Sant Boi de Llobregat.

2019. ‘Passengers’ at SET Gallery. Bird and Flight Awards. Kiev, Ukraine.

2019. ‘Passengers’ at Case Art Fund Gallery stand in Expo Chicago. Chicago, USA.

2019. ‘Passengers’. Selected Visa d’Or Arthus Bertrand. Visa Pour L´Image. France.

2019. ‘Banjul to Biella’. Luis Valtueña Awards. Edificio Pintores 10. Cáceres, Spain.

2019. ‘Banjul to Biella’. Luis Valtueña Awards. Archivo Histórico Provincial de Albacete. Spain.

2019. ‘Banjul to Biella’. Luis Valtueña Awards. Centro Joaquín Roncal. Zaragoza, Spain.

2019. ‘Banjul to Biella’. Luis Valtueña Awards. Caixa Forum. Madrid, Spain.

2019. ‘Passengers’ at Case Art Fund Gallery stand in AIPAD Photo Show. New York, USA.

2018. ‘Passengers’ at Addis Foto Fest. Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.

2018.  PHES – Fotografía Española Solidaria. Centro Universitario de Artes TAI. Madrid, Spain.

2018.  Head On Photo exhibition at Pingyao International Photography Festival. China.

2018. ‘Passengers’ exhibited at Lens Culture Digital Gallery in Photo London Fair. UK.

2018. ‘Passengers’ at Photo IS:RAEL. Tel Aviv.

2018.  Lens Culture Exposure Awards at Voies Off Arles. Arles, France.

2018. ‘Passengers’. Ffotogallery 4040 Celebrations. Cardiff, UK.

2018.  Hellerau Portrait Awards. European Center for the Arts. Dresden, Germany.

2018. ‘Passengers’. ASISA Awards exhibition. Teatros del Canal. Madrid, Spain.

2018. ‘Kosovo: 51st State’. National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo, BiH.

2017.  Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize exhibition. National Portrait Gallery. London, UK.

2017.  Head On Portrait Prize exhibition. Museum of Sydney. Australia.

2017.  The Independent Photographer Annual Exhibition. Berlin, Germany.

2017. ‘Banjul to Biella’. Paraty em Foco. Paraty, Brazil.

2016. ‘Se Alquila Estado’. Centro Cultural Juan de Salazar. Asunción, Paraguay.

2016. ‘Balcanes, 20 años de Srebrenica’. Aleatorio Cultural. Madrid, Spain.

2015. ‘Balcanes, 20 años de Srebrenica’. C.C. Gabriel Celaya, Madrid, Spain.

2014. ‘Jungla Urbana’. Jungla Hábitat Cultural. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

2014. ‘Se Alquila Estado’. Espacio Panal 361. Buenos Aires, Argentina.