Photojournalism 1st place winner

“You are sitting in your prison cell in 40°C and every day repeats itself until you go mad. The only thing we can do about it is sing or play cards” says Sofia, one of six women who share a cell of nine square metres. Aline, Jäty, Jhais, Han, Sofia and Madya are held indefinitely for violent offenses and drug dealing in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. According to them, there is no warrant or judicial order for any of them. This is common practice and causes severe tensions between inmates and guards. Every year hundreds of inmates die during violent contentions in Brazilian prisons.

After a classical education as an advertising photographer, I spent some months as a volunteer in Afghanistan in 2009. Here, I decided to commit to working for NGOs professionally. Today, I document projects for aid organizations worldwide, operating as an experienced “One Man Crew” for photo and videography.