Myanmar photo festival exhibits world-class photo stories
The sixth Yangon Photo Festival exhibits world-class documentary photography from internationally acclaimed photographers and showcases the work of new and upcoming Myanmar photographers
Under the patronage of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Yangon Photo Festival organised by IMS and the French cultural institute in Myanmar, provides the Myanmar public with a selection of world-class photo stories from around the world and Myanmar.
The festival also offers budding Burmese photographers the opportunity to participate in free training courses with the aim of giving the new generation of Myanmar photographers the tools to be professional documentary photographers.
2013 Yangon Photo Festival 1st prize winner: My Endless Quest
[youtube width=”610″ height=”409″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQWEs-VVzmg[/youtube]
From 2009 to 2012, photo essays produced as a result of these trainings were shown in prestigious photography festivals including Les Rencontres d’Arles in France. However, only in 2012 were participants able to speak openly for the first time about photo journalism inside Myanmar.
After more than fifty years of strict censorship, photography has become one of the means by which the new-found freedom of expression in the country can be explored. The aim of the photo-journalism trainings is thus to prepare and enable budding Myanmar journalists to compete at both national and international levels.
The free training workshops run with the support of IMS include technical skills training as well as courses in photo essay production.
The main event of the Festival is the Yangon Photo Night on 15 February, where the best photo essays produced by Myanmar photographers will be screened in front of the public. Prizes such as professional Canon cameras and photo workshops abroad will be awarded by a jury presided by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Yangon Photo Festival offers once a year the best of international photography through exhibitions, lectures and screenings. IMS has been supporting the Yangon Photo Festival since 2009.
