The Visa pour l’Image festival opened in Perpignan, France, on Monday, presenting a rigorous examination of contemporary global crises through the lens of leading photojournalists. The exhibition highlights the devastating human cost of ongoing conflicts in Sudan and Syria, as well as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Arctic regions.
Swiss photojournalist Dominic Nahr was honored with the prestigious Daily Press Visa d’or award for his coverage of International Daily Press. His work captures the harrowing reality inside Sweida hospital in Syria, where a woman weeps while searching for missing relatives alongside her daughter. The award, now in its third year sponsored by Sipa Press, comes with an €8,000 prize.
The festival also shed light on the severe humanitarian emergency in Sudan. A striking image by Mads Nissen depicts Malik Tahir carrying his malnourished 16-year-old daughter, Aisha, across a dusty yard in the Goz Al-Salam displacement camp in South Sudan. After five months of fleeing conflict around Kadugli with little food or medical access, Aisha was diagnosed with kidney failure linked to dehydration and starvation. She passed away two weeks later. Another photograph shows Sudanese soldiers driving through the rubble of a market in Omdurman, a city that has endured continuous fighting since April 2023.
Geopolitical tensions were another central theme, with Erfan Kouchari documenting the aftermath of an Israeli strike in central Tehran on March 1, 2026. The image captures wounded individuals being evacuated just one day before the US and Israel declared war on Iran. Similarly, Hashem Shakeri presented scenes from Tehran during Nowruz, the Persian New Year, illustrating daily life persisting amid the cycle of war.
Looking north, Juliette Pavy explored the political ramifications of US foreign policy with an image of a Donald Trump figurine in a window in Ilulissat, Greenland. The photograph references President Trump’s January 2026 declaration of intent to acquire the territory, a statement that did not rule out military force.
The event also celebrated winners of the Canon Female Photojournalist Grant. Meeri Koutaniemi’s feature follows Elizabeth Nkere, a Kenyan woman who, after fleeing female genital mutilation and child marriage at age nine, established a shelter home protecting 40 girls and training them as activists. Marion Péhée was recognized for her project “Donbas: A Generation Scarred by War,” which profiles individuals in Ukraine affected by the conflict.
Other notable exhibitions include Laurent Ballesta’s underwater exploration of grey reef sharks in French Polynesia, Toby Binder’s documentation of teenage boys in Belfast during the Eleventh Night celebrations, and David Guttenfelder’s aerial view of protesters carrying a giant scroll of the Bill of Rights through Minneapolis during demonstrations against ICE in January 2026.
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