In August 2024 the renowned photojournalist Manoocher Deghati is turning 70. Forty five of those years were spent documenting world events.
To celebrate this anniversary FotoEvidence just published a limited edition retrospective photo book, Eyewitness. The photo book is accompnied by a second volume, a biographical novel about Manoocher’s life written by Ursula Janssen. Both in English and French.
Manoocher’s extraordinary professional archive spans decades and more than a dozen countries. His biography depicts his extraordinary experience: remarkable encounters, incredible coincidences and anecdotes that are more fantastical than many fictional stories. It’s the story of an indestructible zest for life that exposes the nature of oppression and celebrates the relentless pursuit of freedom.
This is the first biographical photo book published by FotoEvidence.
Manoocher with a Nikon by Santiago Lyon
Manoocher Deghati’s life is an extraordinary story, combining curiosity and courage. It is a journey in pursuit of the truth. It all starts in Iran, his home country, from where he was exiled for daring to show the outside world the reality of the revolution and the war with Iraq.
He then flew to Costa Rica where he organized the very young office of Agence France-Presse in the region. He’s a polyglot magician, who always has a portable device and a darkroom with him, and has this incredible ability to be in the right place at the right time. His images speak for themselves; behind each one a mixture of ingenuity, patience and trust.
On assignment covering violent clashes in Ramallah, his leg is shattered by a bullet from an Israeli sniper during violent clashes in Ramallah. Close to death, it is a team of Israeli surgeons who save his life, spending several hours reconstructing his leg, fragment by fragment.
Months of stressful rehabilitation followed at the Military Hospital of Les Invalides in Paris. Others, less solid than he, would have succumbed to suffering and opiates administered for pain. But Manoocher took advantage of this moment to document the life and rehabilitation of French veterans. It was at this time that he was granted French nationality by the President of the Republic, Jacques Chirac.
Santiago Lyon Vice President & Director of Photography,The Associated Press
Manoocher Deghati: Eyewitness is edited by Sarah Leen, former Director of Photography for National Geographic, and designed by Joao Linneu. The book contains 130 images selected from Manoocher’s archive.
