Visa pour L'Image 2014

Before entering the Palais des Congres, attendees are greeted by a Camille Lepage's image of a young man, walking in isolation at the edge of six white lines, which are encased in the red earth of Central Africa. It is an iconic image, and one that offers reflexion.

Once again, the annual photojournalism festival did not disappoint. The recipients of the World Press Photo Award, along with 26 other exhibitions were arranged and exhibited throughout the city of Perpignan. The conflict in the Central African Republic, The Halyan Typhoon in the Philippines, and Ukraine were just some of the highlights of this year's festival. There were also insightful panel discussions between opinion leaders and photographers, as well as a special screening and talk about the Vietnam war, as covered by North Vietnamese photographers.

There were also some incredible books for sale at the Librairie éphémère, such as Photographer's Paradise: Turbulent America 1960-1990 and Crying Meri. Visitors could also meet and discuss the work with the authors, and, if one visits during the professional week, you could also schedule appointments with hard to reach photo editors.

One of my personal highlights of the 2014 Visa pour l'Image, was the photo essay by Alvaro Ybarra Zavala, titled Stories of a Wounded Land. This project documents the effects of the current global agricultural model, and in particular, mass production of goods. There are two sides to this story - one validates the use of this model because it counteracts famine, while the other depicts deformed children and families suffering from incurable diseases because of products used by these farms.

I recommend this festival for those who would like to learn more about the world in which they live - here untold stories, or unpublished stories, are presented to the public, without bias or judgement. I would also recommend Visa for aspiring photographers looking to gain insight into the industry.