AFD / Polka Grand Prix for the Best Photo Report Project: Massimo Berruti for “Drops. Water crisis in Gaza and the West Bank”
Prize: EUR 15,000 of financing for a reportage and its publication in the magazine Polka.
Following the launch of Operation Protective Edge in July 2014, extensive damage has been reported to Gaza’s water supply facilities. The lack of electricity prevents water treatment, and the destruction of networks and sewers means that wastewater is discharged into drinking water networks or the environment, increasing public health risks. This report aims to highlight what is happening in Gaza and bear witness to this close link between humankind and one of the essential elements of nature.
Massimo Berruti (Italy, 1979) is a documentary photographer based in Rome. He spent almost four years working in central Asia mainly in Pakistan, analyzing its contemporary history and involvement in the War on Terror through its implications on the population. This extensive coverage became his first long-term project, named “The Dusty Path.” He approached photography for the very first time in 2003, while he was still conducting his studies in biology. In 2004 he started a full-time free lance experience with two photographers friends , who invited him to participate in a collective project on the Italian cultural and economic crisis, a work published in February 2006 by Trolley Books in a volume called “Made in Italy.”
In October 2005 he joined the no longer existing Grazia Neri Agency, based in Milan (Italy) and was represented by them for about three years.
In the summer of 2008 he became a full member of AgenceVU (Paris).
http://www.agencevu.com
http://www.massimoberruti.com
http://www.afd.fr
