The jury decided the nominees and winners of the SLOVAK PRESS PHOTO 2019 contest.
The members of the international jury met in Bratislava on 30 August – 01 September 2019. The jury had the following members: Joe Klamar (photographer, AFP, SK/Canada) – jury chair; Kadir van Lohuizen (photographer, NOOR, NL), Fréderique Rondet (photoeditor, Liberation, France), Jindřich Štreit (photographer and teacher, CZ), and Andrej Balco (photographer, SK).
181 photographers applied to the contest, having entered of 2,250 pictures in total, including 246 series.
The jury judged singles and series in 10 contest categories: News, Reportage, Daily Life, Portrait, Sports, Nature and Environment, The World of Art and Culture, Young Photographers up to 26 Years and Students (international category), Long-Term Document (international category) and a new international category Mobile Phone Photography, as well as the special Bratislava Grant category.
The entries covered predominantly the presidential elections in Slovakia and other events related to the investigation of the murder of Ján Kuciak and of cases of corruption on the Slovak political and judicial scene. Many photographers mapped various social problems, poverty and social exclusion at home and abroad.
The jury expressed its greatest satisfaction with the category Daily Life and with the international category Long-Term Document, the quality of which was much higher compared to other contest categories.
The jury awarded the Grand Prix to Jozef Jakubčo from SME Daily for his series Night with the President. Kadir van Lohuizen said about the winning series: “It has been inspiring to see such great work and being able to award it. The winning series reflects what the country has being going through, resulting in the election of the first female President of Slovakia who has vowed for change and has been beautifully photographed.”
The names of the SLOVAK PRESS PHOTO 2019 winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Primate´s Palace in Bratislava on 03 October 2019.
Bratislava, 2 September 2019