Once again the Zoom Photo Festival Saguenay in Chicoutimi in Québec, now in its seventh edition, kicks off under the first gingerly layers of snow. A well-established event in photojournalism, the festival never fails to surprise, always on the lookout for new collaborations, exhibitions, debates, and other initiatives aiming to promote the profession. Once again diverse and generous, the programming includes this year over fifteen local and international exhibitors, an assorted panel bringing together such subjects as Mexican morgues by the Belgian photographer Sébastien Van Malleghem, seal hunting viewed by the Québec photographer Yoanis Menge, and the Other Columbia by the French artist Nadège Mazars who is exhibiting her work for the first time. Also present, to mention but a few, is the Somali photographer Mohamed Abdiwahab who documents daily violence ravaging his country; Hervé Lequeux and Élodie Chrisment, each presenting a different aspect of French reality; and Hubert Hayaud who took interest in the unusual subject of old US buses which find a second life in South America.
This year, a mini-residency was inaugurated by the guest photographer Bálint Pörneczi, who used it to wander around the streets of this small town and take portraits of local residents with his iPhone. The portraits are added to his series Figuràk, currently on display at La Pulperie.
In addition to exhibitions, talks and round tables on pertinent issues—always designed in view of challenging the profession and examining its self-doubts and transformations—have come to play an important part at the festival. Major editors, such as Emanuela Ascole from National Geographic France or Camille Simon from L’Obs Magazine, as well as Canadian editors such as Moe Doiron from the daily Globe and Mail, participate in the debates. Meetings unfold at their own pace, set by the rhythm of local life, and professionals take time to exchange ideas. Cultural differences, editorial guidelines, and media support help photographers hone their portfolios thanks to numerous lectures offered throughout the festival, and allow them to better meet the expectations of individual publishers.
Advice is aimed at young talents wishing to cut their teeth in the field as much as at seasoned photographers who become acquainted with distributors’ up-to-date needs. As we keep hearing, photojournalism, even while preserving its golden rule of ethics, is constantly changing shape, and whoever refuses to adapt or is blind to those changes, will soon be left behind. At an age when authorial approach and photojournalistic vision are intertwined, paper and web publishing work in tandem, and new tools are being created, one needs an open mind to juggle the countless possibilities which come to (re)define photojournalism. This was the conclusion to a professional development week which took place on November 2–5. The festival now invites the public to visit the exhibitions through November 27.
Sophie Bertrand
Zoom Photo Festival Saguenay 2016
Until November 27, 2016
Chicoutimi, Québec
