April 22-27
Cannes, France

Sony and the World Photography Organisation (WP0) are delighted to announce that the city of Cannes will once again provide the location for the annual Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA) and World Photography Festival. Running from 22-27 April 2010, the Awards and Festival is set to be the global photographic event of the year.

Welcoming professional and amateur photographers, photography students and the general public, the Awards and Festival is a five day celebration of the craft of photography. It takes place across the City, at locations including the famous Croisette, with a host of exhibitions, workshops, portfolio reviews, student programmes and talks from World Photography Academy members including Jonathan Torgovnik, Nadav Kander and Reza. A highlight of the programme will be the ‘Photography Now’ symposium, presented by some of the leading international industry figures. It explores the current topics, trends, dilemmas and debates concerning photography today.

Tickets to the 2010 Sony World Photography Awards and World Photography Festival are priced from £15 and are available now at www.worldphotographyawards.org

At the heart of the week long event is the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards prize ceremony. Taking place on 22 April inside the Grand Lumier Theatre of the Palais des Festivals, it is here that winners of the professional, amateur and student categories receive their trophies and the overall winner of the 2010 L’Iris D’Or for Photographer of the Year will be announced. The final presentation will go to the recipient of the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award.

The ceremony’s audience of VIPs from the international photography community, alongside members of the public, will experience a visual journey across the genres of exhilarating sport to glamorous fashion, captivating landscapes, people, places, trends and imaginations. The Awards will unveil stories seen and told from across the globe.

Over the course of the week, this year’s Festival includes:

• ‘Cannes ‘lypse’ - The iStockphoto team offers a series of workshops and live shoots for anyone interested in strong stock photography concepts. The iStockalypse will engage attendees to join in challenging, educational shoots influenced by French culture and the city of Cannes. Anticipate beachside cafes, shopping, sailing, fashion, food and culinary topics, even some red carpet shoots – all complete with art-direction, models and studio lighting. 3 days, 3 workshops, 3 mobile stations, and one extra bonus event;
• Talks by professional photographers such Idris Khan, Jonathan Torgovnik and Adrian Boot who embrace themes from photographic sculpture to the challenging skill of portraiture photography;
• A seminar from Panos Pictures Agency which offers an insight into the professional world of photography and how to stand out above the rest;
• ‘Photography Now’ – a symposium from an expert panel of industry professionals who discuss current trends, dilemmas and debates concerning the world of photography today;
• A special exhibition by participating students of the SWPA Student Focus programme, showcasing images from universities around the world;
• Portfolio reviews where top industry leaders offer constructive criticism, helping photographers improve their portfolio selection and presentation. Expert reviewers already confirmed are Aidan Sullivan (VP of Getty Images), Monica Allende (Picture Editor of the Sunday Times), Chloe Limpkin (Picture Director of Harpers Bazaar), Bill Hunt (collector and portfolio owner / co-founder of Hasted Hunt Gallery in NY), Roberto Koch (Publisher, CONTRASTO and founder of FORMA in Milan) and Mark Sealy (Director of Autograph);
• Spectacular indoor and outdoor exhibitions will be presented this year for all to see at no cost.
  Exhibitions include the 2010 Professional and Amateur Winners Exhibitions; The Student Focus Award; The Sony Campaign Award; The Lifetime Achievement Award Exhibition and more to be announced.

Astrid Merget, Creative Director, Sony World Photography Awards and Festival commented: “We are delighted that the Awards and Festival have grown into such a spectacular event in just three years. We really look forward to welcoming the international photographic community, everyone interested in photography and the general public to Cannes this April”.

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Key dates for the Sony World Photography Awards 2010

www.worldphotographyawards.org

Official Partners of the Sony World Photography Festival

• City of Cannes
• i-stock

Created by the World Photography Organisation, the World Photography Awards (WPA), sponsored by Sony launched in 2007. The World Photography Organisation (WPO) supports professional, amateur and student photography, lending a global platform for the photographic industry to communicate, converge and showcase current trends in Photojournalism, Fine Art and Commercial Photography. Delivering various initiatives and programmes across this global community under the “World Photography” brand, these programmes involve the photographer in commercial, cultural and educational activities within the many industry sectors, whilst also creating cultural activities for the public to participate in. Also currently included within the World Photography portfolio are the World Photography Student Focus Competition; the World Photography Awards Global Tour, the World Photography Festival, the World Photography Focus Programme and the recently launched World Photography Collection.

The WPA website - www.worldphotographyawards.org features an online gallery and news section. It also includes comprehensive information about the awards, the categories, a current list of World Photographic Academy members, and key dates.

About Sony
Sony is a leading global innovator of audio, video, communications and information technology products for both the consumer and professional markets. Sony is renowned for its audio-visual products, such as the BRAVIA™ LCD High Definition (HD) television, Cyber-shot™ digital camera, Handycam® camcorder and Walkman® MP3 player as well as its VAIO™ personal computers and HD professional broadcast equipment, highlighted by the XDCAM™ HD. Offering a complete end-to-end HD value chain and with its electronics, music, pictures, game and online businesses, Sony is one of the world’s leading digital entertainment brands, employing approximately 170,000 people worldwide.

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