The international jury of the 2nd World Press Photo Multimedia Contest has given the First Prize to the production "Afrikaner Blood" by Elles van Gelderen and Ilvy Njiokiktjien from the Netherlands. The multimedia production follows young white Afrikaner teenagers in South Africa who attend a holiday camp set up to teach them self-defense and how to combat a perceived black enemy.
The jury chair Vincent Laforet called "Afrikaner Blood" "an incredibly well crafted and nuanced piece with a very cohesive structure and refined execution." He added: "We as the jury appreciated the restraint that the authors demonstrated in the telling of this story. All of the multimedia elements and careful attention to detail served to push the narrative forward, as opposed to distracting from it."
The judging was conducted at the World Press Photo office, where the jury viewed all the entries and discussed their merits over a period of four days. A total of 287 multimedia productions from 48 countries were entered in the contest, organized for the second time this year.
Managing director Michiel Munneke said: "This year, participation was open for photographers and producers and we are glad to have had such a broad field of entries from around the world. It is clear from the discussions with the jury that multimedia is continuously moving and developing and there are no set definitions yet. We are delighted that World Press Photo, through this contest, can contribute to the development of the medium and of the visual journalism profession."
2012 Multimedia Contest winners
1st Prize
"Afrikaner Blood"
By Elles van Gelder (videographer) and Ilvy Njiokiktjien (photographer), the Netherlands
2nd Prize
"Half-Lives: The Chernobyl Workers Now"
By Maisie Crow, USA, photographer and videographer
3rd Prize
"America’s Dead Sea"
By James Lo Scalzo, USA, photographer
The prizewinning productions can be viewed online >>