Jury for photographic works 2025
Photo: Pep Bonet - NOOR
Clément Saccomani began his career as a freelance photographer represented by the Gamma agency, covering international news in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and South America for many years, particularly violence against women around the world. In 2009, Clément joined Magnum Photos. In 2011, he was appointed Editorial Director, where he developed numerous innovative projects incorporating new narrative strategies for corporate clients (LVMH, Lhoist, BNP Paribas, Nintendo), NGOs, and international institutions.
In 2015, Clément became Managing Director of the NOOR agency and Foundation in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where he developed European projects (Horizon 2020 – Creative Europe), Blockchain and AI projects with Google, putting the content creator back at the center of the visual economy, as well as innovative projects, including creating a VR pilot project for the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Over his career, Clément and his team and partners received numerous awards, such as 8 World Press Photo Awards and many others.
In 2021, Clément took over as Director of the Cinémathèque des Pays de Savoie et de l’Ain, whose mission is to collect, safeguard and promote audiovisual memory in Savoie, Haute-Savoie and Ain.
Since 2023, Clément Saccomani and his organization Literati have been designing and implementing artistic and cultural projects and supporting artists, city and regional stakeholders, cultural institutions, museums, and businesses. Literati offers tailor-made consulting and implementation services across the entire chain of an artistic or cultural project.
Roman Vondrouš was born in Pardubice. He graduated from the Institute of Creative Photography at the Silesian University in Opava, where he is currently continuing his studies in the doctoral program. In 2013, he won 1st prize in the Sports category of the prestigious World Press Photo contest, and in 2016 and 2017, he received two second-place awards in another major global photojournalism competition, Pictures of the Year International. In 2020, he won 1st prize in the Sports Portfolio category of the AIPS Sport Media Awards.In the Czech Press Photo competition, he has received more than twenty awards, including the Grant of the Mayor of Prague for photographing the transformation of the capital city. In 2013, he was awarded the Rector’s Prize of the Silesian University in Opava for outstanding achievements in photojournalism. Since 2005, he has been working as a photojournalist for the Czech News Agency (ČTK), where he covers daily news for the agency. He has photographed both Summer and Winter Olympic Games: 2008 – Beijing, 2010 – Vancouver, 2014 – Sochi. In his free time, he pursues personal photographic projects, though his main focus remains horse racing.
Prof. Mgr. Jindřich Štreit Dr.h.c. is a Czech photographer, university teacher, curator and organizer of cultural projects. His works primarily document the life of inhabitants of Czech villages. His is the author of over 1500 photography exhibitions, over 56 published works, his photographs are represented in the most important collections and has been the protagonist of several movies. He currently teaches at the Institute of creative photography in the city of Opava.
Tamás Révész was born in Budapest. He is a Hungarian-American award-winning photographer - Pulitzer Memorial Prize, World Press Photo, Golden Camera, Béla Balázs, Alexander Rodchenko, among others. Author of fourteen photo books, New York, Rome, Sicily, Budapest, Búcsú a cigányteleptől (Farewell to Gypsy Colonies), among others. His work has been published by major European and American magazines. He is a worldwide exhibited artist (New York, Budapest, Rome, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Copenhagen, La Paz, and Berlin, among others). He has been a member of the international jury of World Press Photo. Recipient of Howard Chapnick Grant by W. Eugene Smith Foundation. Curator of photo exhibitions to Budapest – Capa Brothers, Anthony Suau, Tomasz Gudzowaty, Peter Turnley, National Geographic, etc. Organizer of World Press Photo exhibition to Budapest for over three decades. Teacher of photojournalism at Budapest Metropolitan University.
Alexander Chekmenev is a Ukrainian photographer who has gained increasing recognition both at home and internationally in recent years. He won the European documentary photography competition in Vevey, Switzerland, with his series Ukrainian Passport. In 2013, his book Donbass was selected for the German Photo Books Award, and he was named Ukrainian Photographer of the Year. His work has been exhibited in various galleries across Europe, and more recently, galleries in North America have also shown interest in his photography.
Project guarantor
Doc. Mgr. art. Jana Hojstričová, ArtD. is a photographer and teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava, where she leads the "Studio of Photography, Reality, Construction". In her photographic work she deals with the topics such as the status of women, contemporary family and society, and currently also with the issues of museum culture. In addition to her photographic work, she also specializes in glass, ceramics and design photography. She also researches photography and photographic technologies of the 19th century. In recent years, she has collaborated with Pal Macha, a glass artist. She has prepared a number of exhibitions for domestic and international audiences. She currently lives and works in Bratislava.
Jury for video 2025
Filmmaker, visual artist and photographer Tomáš Rafa (1979) studied at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Since 2009 he has been documenting the growing nationalism and far-right groups in the Visegrad Group area. Tomáš Rafa's work is known not only in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, but also in Sweden and the USA. In Slovakia, he received the Oskar Čepan Award in 2011, and since then he has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in many countries. In 2017 he presented his work at the prestigious Museum of Modern Art (MoMA PS1) in New York. Focusing on current affairs and addressing social and political issues, his work is related to contemporary art's inclination towards ethical issues.
Tomáš Stanek is a Slovak cinematographer, educator, and long-time member of the Association of Slovak Cinematographers. His work spans documentaries, feature films, commercials, and music videos, with a strong focus on visual storytelling that has earned recognition at major international film festivals.
Among his acclaimed works are Children (dir. Jaro Vojtek), for which he received the Tiantan Award for Best Cinematography at the Beijing International Film Festival (2015), and Lost Holiday (dir. Lucie Králová), which won Best Documentary at both the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and the Banja Luka International Film Festival (2007). He is also the recipient of the 2013 Camera Award from the Slovak Cinematographers Association for the music video World Citizen (dir. Branislav Vincze), and the Golden Egg Award at the Kustendorf Film Festival for The Exhibition(2014).
Since 2017, he has been teaching at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Bratislava, where he mentors students at the Department of Cinematography. He earned his master’s degree in 2002 and completed his doctoral studies (ArtD) in 2018 at the same institution.
Monika Bryk - audiovisual artist, photojournalist and cinematographer. Also academic teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. In both her artistic and documentary projects, she explores the dynamics of social and political change, especially in Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova - Transnistria, Georgia and Germany). Her documentary work is presented in Polish and international media. Since 2019, she has been a regular contributor of Krytyka Polityczna, a leading progressive media platform in Poland. She participated in the Canon Student Development Program 2019 at the Visa pour l'Image festival in Perpignan, France. Her short film WE ARE PEOPLE was screened at Post P_rn Arts Fest (Warsaw, 2024) and later received a distinction in The Slovak Press Photo 2024 competition.