The 2024 edition of the Ethical Photography Festival in Lodi once again features the prestigious World Press Photo, one of the world’s most important international photojournalism contests, established in 1955 in Amsterdam. The traveling exhibition showcases a curated selection of the winning images from the year, displayed in various countries globally. This year’s event is made even more special by the return of Fujifilm as the Festival’s main sponsor. For the first time in Italy, since the announcement in January, Fujifilm showcases its collaboration with the World Press Photo Foundation- a partnership that sees Fujifilm as a sponsor of the foundation’s international competitions and exhibitions.
The World Press Photo Foundation is known for its commitment to giving visibility to photojournalists, sharing authentic and powerful stories to a worldwide audience. Similarly, Fujifilm has consistently placed photography and photographic culture at the heart of its corporate mission. As stated by Masato Yamamoto, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Imaging Solutions Division at Fujifilm Corporation : “We are excited to have established this collaboration, which will enable us to support the growth of reliable storytelling and global communication through the power of photography.” Yamamoto also emphasized that this partnership perfectly aligns with the company’s ethos, as Fujifilm celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
The World Press Photo Foundation shares equal enthusiasm for this initiative. Joumana El Zein Khoury, Executive Director of the foundation, said: “We are very pleased to announce this partnership with Fujifilm, which shares our mission to support the photographic community. This collaboration will help us reach more people, enhance our exhibitions, and directly support the community of documentary and news photographers.“
The collaboration between Fujifilm and World Press Photo highlights the importance of photography not only as an art form but also as a powerful tool for storytelling- capable of bringing to light stories that deserve to be heard. Through this collaboration, Fujifilm introduced one of the winners of the 2024 edition: Rena Effendi.
Rena Effendi is an Azerbaijani photographer and documentary filmmaker renowned for her work on social and environmental themes, often highlighting marginalized communities and the challenges of modernization. Born in 1977 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Effendi began her photography career in the early 2000s, documenting her country’s transition from the Soviet era to a new phase of economic development and political unrest. Her work stands out for its ability to showcase the human side of complex situations, creating a deep connection between her subjects and the audience and encouraging reflection on contemporary social and environmental issues.
At her installation, Rena Effendi presented only four photographs, a necessity due to circumstances, through which she shared her project: “Looking for Satyrus.” With a gentle but determined voice, Effendi recounted a poignant story set in the southern region between Azerbaijan and Armenia- an area long deemed dangerous because of war. This region is home to a unique butterfly that exists only here.
“There is a doctor who studied butterflies. He died in 1991, just as the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan began- one of the longest conflicts in Europe. There is no peace in that area; the ceasefire has been broken repeatedly over the last five years. War is exhausting, and my friends and I, especially those who are Armenian, are tired of this situation. This project is a statement against the conflict. It is a call for humanity to prevail over division.“
War is the starting point of this story, but from a photographic perspective, Effendi chose not to depict pain. Instead, she focused on life and memory, an important form of personal archive. Life is symbolized by Satyrus Effendi, a rare species of butterfly named after Rustam Effendi, Rena’s father, a Soviet-Azerbaijani entomologist. Rustam collected tens of thousands of butterflies throughout his life while traveling through what are now contested borderlands between Armenia and Azerbaijan. His death in 1991 coincided with the beginning of decades of conflict in the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“For over three years, I have been searching for the places my father visited. This is a personal story for me. I lost him in 1991 when I was a teenager, and he was always a rare presence at home.“
Following in her father’s footsteps, Rena Effendi traversed the war-torn region in search of the Satyrus Effendi butterfly, which inhabits the ridges of the Zangezur Mountains: “My father traveled from Baku, crossing what is now Nagorno-Karabakh. It is hard to imagine someone crossing such complex borders today. In Azerbaijan, there are isolation points due to wars, making it impossible to cross these borders now.“
During her journey, Rena had the opportunity to meet people from both sides of the front, who helped her along the way, demonstrating that humanity prevails even in war-torn places: “I requested permission from the Ministry of Defense and the President’s Office to visit Armenia for the first time in my life as an Azerbaijani citizen. I traveled from the Azerbaijani side to the border. In Armenia, I met Parker Khazarian, an Armenian friend originally from Baku. During the war, I asked people if they remembered my father, and some did. I followed Parker to the mountains in search of the butterfly, but we couldn’t find it. The last known sighting was in 2017 when a Russian scientist was arrested. This area is very delicate to navigate, and this personal journey is about humanity and fostering acceptance between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. It is a story that speaks to overcoming conflicts and division.“
As we continued our tour among the various projects on display, a reflection on the state of contemporary photojournalism emerged. While there are many stories of great interest, rich in meaning, many are marred by excessive post-production. Too frequently, contrasts are exaggerated, and colors are saturated to the point of appearing unnatural. This trend extends beyond visual rendering: the composition of the images themselves can compromise the true purpose of the narrative. Too often, photographs resemble staged scenes rather than authentic representations of reality, turning reportage into visually captivating but potentially misleading tales.
Looking at the winning photographs from previous World Press Photo editions, it is easy to see the current challenges of visual communication. Despite their extraordinary technical quality, some seem to stray from the essence of photojournalism: telling true stories in a sincere and direct manner. The power of photojournalism lies in its ability to convey the emotion and authenticity of a moment. With excessive theatrics and stylistic manipulations, there is a risk of losing this genuine connection to reality.
Thus, the invitation is to return to the essence of visual storytelling- to emphasize the story and authentic emotions over visual effects meant to impress. The true beauty of photography, especially in such a critical and important context, is its ability to make us feel, understand, and, above all, reflect.
Federico Emmi