Tragic photo of Mariupol mom wins World Press Photo 2023

The photograph depicting the now-famous Mariupol mother after the bombing of Ukraine’s martyred city, a shot taken by Ukrainian photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, is the winner of the 2023 edition of the World Press Photo Contest, the world’s most prestigious photojournalism award. The photograph wins the top prize for “perfectly capturing the human suffering caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in a single image,” according to the World Press Photo note. The shot depicts a group of rescuers carrying a pregnant woman, Marianna, out of Mariupol Children’s Hospital after a fierce Russian bombardment. Unfortunately, the woman and her newborn did not survive.

The disturbing image of the Mariupol siege was unanimously chosen as the winner of World Press Photo of the Year. With the vote decided on the first anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine, the jury mentioned the power of the image and the story behind it, as well as the atrocities it shows. The death of both the pregnant woman and her child summed up much of the war, as well as Russia’s possible intent. As one juror put it, “It’s like they are trying to kill the future of Ukraine.”

The other world winners are Denmark’s Mads Nissen, who wins in The Story of the Year category, with “nine disturbing but beautiful photos” (so the organization) with which the author refuses to let us forget the Afghan people now living under the Taliban and in the lack of international aid.

The Long-Term Project Award goes to Anush Babajanyan (Armenia), for his long-standing work to highlight a story not often covered outside Central Asia about the impacts of water management after the end of the Soviet Union exacerbated by the climate crisis-but more importantly, showing the powerful spirit of people forced to adapt to new realities.

Finally, theOpen Format Award goes to Egyptian Mohamed Mahdy, who is working with residents of the Al Max neighborhood in Alexandria, Egypt, to preserve the memory of their rapidly disappearing fishing village and has invited the world to participate through an interactive website.

The four global winners were selected from 24 regional winners (including two Italians, Simone Tramonte and Alessandro Cinque), chosen from more than 60,000 entries (still and multimedia images) submitted by 3,752 participants from 127 countries. The entries were first judged by six regional juries and all winners chosen by a global jury composed of the regional jury presidents plus the global jury president.

Global jury chair Brent Lewis, photo editor of The New York Times and co-founder of Diversify Photo, “Our four global winners represent the best photos and stories of the most important and pressing issues of 2022. They also help continue the tradition of what is possible with photography and how photography helps us see the universality of the human condition.”

World Press Photo Foundation executive director Joumana El Zein Khoury said, “Millions of people around the world will look at these photos and see death, despair, loss and crisis. My wish is that they will also see what I see. The hope that through documentation there is a chance for justice and a better future, through remembrance we honor what is lost, and through the courage and dedication of these photographers we are inspired. By highlighting these global winners, we hope to help people understand a little more about the world we all share. I find myself thinking about how the people in these photos are not much different from me, leading me to care more about what is happening to them. This is the indispensable benefit of photojournalism and documentary photography that I hope everyone who sees these stories will also appreciate.”

These stories, along with the other winners, will be shown to millions of people as part of our annual exhibition in more than 60 cities around the world, including Amsterdam (opening April 22), Rome, Berlin, Barcelona, Zurich, Tel Aviv, Taipei, Singapore, Mexico City, Jakarta, Sydney and Toronto, and will be viewed by millions more online.

The 24 winners are also invited to a program of events in Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 9-13. In addition to the awards celebration, the program will consist of networking events (with photo editors, curators, and festival directors), workshops, presentations, and a tour of their winning images on display. This will also include The Stories that Matter, a public event reflecting on today’s pressing issues through the eyes of photojournalists, documentary photographers and critical thinkers.

Tragic photo of Mariupol mom wins World Press Photo 2023

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