ACFJ brings back World Press Photo exhibit to Manila

The ACFJ brings back the world’s best news photos to Manila as it hosts the 2008 World Press Photo Exhibition for three weeks from Aug. 1 to 22.  

Supported by the Embassy of The Netherlands in Manila and global multi-brand company Unilever, the forthcoming Manila show will feature winning works from the 2008 World Press Photo competition. It is topbilled this year by the work of British photographer Tim Hetherington. His 2007 picture of a U.S. soldier who had collapsed appearing exasperated on a bunker after intense fighting in Afghanistan was awarded the Photo of the Year.  

A record number of 5,019 photographers - up 12.5 percent over the immediately past year – vied for the 2008 competition which is sponsored annually by the Amsterdam-based media NGO, World Press Photo.  A total of 80,536 images were submitted. 

The exhibit that follows the competition is “a showcase for creativity in photojournalism and a platform for developments in the profession - part of World Press Photo's aim of encouraging and stimulating the work of press photographers around the world,” the World Press Photo, said in its website.  

Touted as the world’s largest and most prestigious annual contest in press photography, the World Press Photo competition has been run by the World Press Photo since 1955. 

The Manila leg of the exhibit runs August 1-7 at Podium in Ortigas, August 7-13 at SM Mall of Asia and August 14-22 at The Block (SM North EDSA).

August 1-7 - Podium

August 7-13 - Mall of Asia

August 14-22 - The Block 

These were also two of the three  venues of last year’s show which drew huge numbers of  viewers including journalists, media professionals, students, teachers and professionals. The show solicited nearly 200 comments and testimonials in guest book entries. 

The forthcoming Manila show is expected to attract as broad an audience as it did in May 2007. 

Each year, the winning images in the competition go on a roadshow after the exhibit’s official opening in Amsterdam as part of the prize-giving ceremony in April.  It is shown until March of the following year in venues around the globe. 

The Manila leg of the exhibit will open with a press preview on the first day.  Guided tours for students, and academic and professional organizations are set for the succeeding days. 

The World Press Photo is an Amsterdam-based non-stock non-profit organization. 

In a two-year program, it worked with the ACFJ for  the successful offering of the Diploma in Photojournalism course crafted for Asian photojournalists and media professionals who want to sharpen their technical skills and be better in their profession. At least 15 students have so far graduated from the program. 

For updates, visit ACFJ website here.