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“A story of hope and love in the most difficult times”.
This is how Danish photographer Mads Nissen described the story behind the winning image of World Press Photo 2021.
The snapshot captures the moment nurse Adriana Silva da Costa Souza wraps her arms around Rosa Luzia Lunardi, 85, who was wearing five months without kissing anyone.
In Brazil, as in many other countries, nursing homes closed in March 2020 to protect themselves from the coronavirus pandemic, which is particularly fatal for those over 80 years old.
After five months in which caregivers were instructed to minimize physical contact with vulnerable people, a simple invention by the Viva Bem nursing home in Sao Paulo restored displays of affection.
They started to use “the hug curtain“made of a flexible plastic that allows caregivers and the elderly to kiss again.
The photo was taken on August 5, 2020.
The independent jury chose her as the winner of the competition as The First Embrace.
“The most extraordinary moment of our life”
“When I learned of the crisis that started in Brazil and President Bolsonaro’s lack of leadership, denying the virus from the start and calling it a ‘little flu’, I really felt the need to do something. thing about it, ”Nissen commented. his photograph.
Since the start of the pandemic, covid-19 has gone to Brazil 13 million infected and more than 350,000 dead, making the South American nation the second country with the most deaths after the United States (559,000), according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
During the crisis, President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration was widely criticized for opposing the application of more restrictive containment measures against the virus.
Kevin WY Lee, photographer and creative director of the 2021 jury, described the award-winning photo as “an iconic image of Covid-19 that immortalize the most extraordinary moment of our life. (In it) I read about vulnerability, loved ones, losses and separations, deaths, but, most importantly, survival. Everything is in one picture. ”
The jury evaluated 74,470 photographs from 4,315 photographers before selecting the winners in eight categories: general news, sport, environment and portraits.
“Yesterday I spoke with the two protagonists in the photo. They are both doing well and are also very happy with the price,” Nissen told the BBC.
The photographer says taking the picture was a “relief” in a moment of “sadness”.
“You might think what a hug counts, but it really moved everyone, including me,” Nissen said.
“This year has been very meaningful. And They chose this image to represent this year and this crisis. It’s a great honor, ”added the photojournalist.
After graduating from the Danish School of Journalism in 2007, Nissen moved to Shanghai to document the social and human consequences of China’s historic economic boom.
He now resides in Copenhagen and has been working as a photographer for the Danish daily Politiken since 2014.
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