Sony World Photography Awards 09

FotoTv founder Marc Ludwig reports live from the second annual Sony World Photography Awards, SWPA, in Cannes, with exciting interviews with this years winners, as well as interviews with the award’s founder and creative director.

After opening the film from the famous red-carpeted steps of the Palais des Festivals, Ludiwg heads to his first interview with SWPA’s founder, Scoot Grey, to find out what makes this awards festival so tremendous and so significant, as well as a forecast for the following days to come. Grey says the concept behind the SWPA is simple, “it’s a world program for the international photographic community, for photographers to show their work on a global scale”.

A very important initiative of the SWPA is the “Student Focus Program”, a groundbreaking initiative that provides a unique opportunity for both universities and their students, to gain important experience in a professional capacity and within the professional field.

Ania Wadsworth, of the student focus program explains, “The Student Focus Program is an initiative that focuses on the ecological issues and environmental problems of the world today. Specifically, for the festival segment there will be a week-long of exciting venues, including talks, seminars, networking meetings and events, exhibition tours, and media discussions hosted by some of the world’s most renowned photographers, editors, publishers, gallery owners, curators and other industry experts. This is definitely a great chance for the future professionals of tomorrow to show their work.”

Other film highlights include an interview an with award panel judge, where she discusses the consensus of the judges’ selections, an interview with Polka magazine editor and curator, Alain Genestar, who is the presenter of the “Lifetime Achievement Award”, which this year went to legendary photographer Marc Riboud, best known for his “Eiffel Tower Painter” photo.

A day after the gala award ceremony Ludwig meets up with this years L’Iris D’Or winner, David Zimmer, whose majestic landscape photos merited him the coveted prize. Wrapping up FotoTV’s filming in Cannes was an interview with the festival’s Creative Director, Astrid Merget, where she reflects on the momentous six-day long festival, as well as what the future holds for SWPA.