The World Press Photo Foundation announced the winners of its renowned contests, the 60th annual World Press Photo Contest and the 7th annual World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest.
The jury of the 60th annual Photo Contest has selected an image by Turkish photographer Burhan Ozbilici as the World Press Photo of the Year. Burhan Ozbilici’s picture–which also won first prize in the Spot News Stories category–shows how Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, a 22-year-old off-duty police officer, assassinated the Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, at an art exhibition in Ankara, Turkey, on 19 December 2016. Altıntaş wounded three other people before being killed by officers in a shootout. Ozbilici is a staff photographer for The Associated Press, based in Istanbul.
Mary F. Calvert, member of the jury, spoke about the winning photograph: “It was a very very difficult decision, but in the end we felt that the picture of the Year was an explosive image that really spoke to the hatred of our times. Every time it came on the screen you almost had to move back because it’s such an explosive image and we really felt that it epitomizes the definition of what the World Press Photo of the Year is and means.” Jury member João Silva added: “Right now I see the world marching towards the edge of an abyss. This is a man who has clearly reached a breaking point and his statement is to assassinate someone who he really blames, a country that he blames, for what is going on elsewhere in the region. I feel that what is happening in Europe, what is happening in America, what is happening in the Far East, Middle East, Syria, and this image to me talks of it. It is the face of hatred.”
The 2017 contest drew entries from around the world: 5,034 photographers from 125 countries submitted 80,408 images. The jury gave prizes in eight categories to 45 photographers from 25 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Syria, New Zealand, Turkey, UK, and USA.
Visit the gallery of all 2017 Photo Contest winners: https://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo/2017
Visit the gallery of all 2017 Digital Storytelling Contest winners: https://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/mm/2017
Discover all of the winners and the awarded photos in an image gallery: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo/2017
