Meet the jury and screening panel of the 2020 Digital Storytelling Contest

Entries for the 2020 Contests are now open! Our annual contests recognize and celebrate the best visual journalism produced over the last year.

As we are receiving submissions by visual and digital storytellers from around the world, we are pleased to announce the screening panel and jury members who will judge the entries of this 10th edition of our annual Digital Storytelling Contest.

Screening panel and jury

The Digital Storytelling Contest, open to short documentary film and interactive productions, recognizes and rewards forms of visual storytelling enabled by digital technologies. The judging of the contest takes place over several rounds. The screening panel, a group of media professionals, first views and scores the complete set of entries in their category.

This year, the members of the screening panel in each category are:

Interactive:

• Monica Allende, Spain, independent curator, consultant and educator
• Victor Pardinho, Brazil, media artist and researcher
• Chan Young Park, USA, multidisciplinary designer

Long:

• Fábio Erdos, Brazil, filmmaker and photographer
• Puiyee Leong, Singapore, program manager of Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film
• Ai Mabuchi, Japan, program coordinator for Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (YIDFF)

Short:

• Nadir Bouhmouch, Morocco, filmmaker and photographer
• Madi Ju, China, co-founder and executive producer of Yi Shi Yi Se (Beijing)
• Henrik Kastenskov, Denmark, photojournalist and multimedia producer at Bombay Flying Club

After the screening panel have scored all entries, around 20 productions advance to be judged by the jury. Earlier this year, we have announced that Zoeann Murphy, visual journalist at The Washington Post will chair the 2020 Digital Storytelling Contest. We are now proud to introduce the jury members that will join her in Amsterdam in February to select the awarded productions of 2020:

• Zeina Abi Assy, Lebanon, Director of Interactive Programs at Tribeca Film Institute
• Inadelso Cossa, Mozambique, director, producer and cinematographer
• Ksenia Diodorova, Russia, co-founder and art director of Gonzo Design
• Claudia Hinterseer, the Netherlands, senior video producer at South China Morning Post
• Guille Isa, Peru, filmmaker
• Adnaan Wasey, Canada, executive producer of Launchpad at WGBH
• Sara Kolster, the Netherlands, interactive director and designer, will be the secretary of the jury. 

Contest open for entries 2 December 2019 -14 January 2020

Entries for the Digital Storytelling Contest are open from 2 December 2019 to 14 January 2020. It is free to enter and open to all digital storytellers and visual journalists around the world. To highlight diverse visual stories, the Digital Storytelling Contest awards productions in three categories: Interactive, Long, Short. The winners of the headline prizes ‘World Press Photo Interactive of the Year’ and ‘World Press Photo Online Video of the Year’ both receive a cash prize of €10,000 euros.

The awarded productions are showcased to a global audience, and included in the World Press Photo exhibitions featuring the Digital Storytelling Contest. 

Zoeann Murphy, chair of the 2020 Digital Storytelling Contest Jury, encourages all digital storytellers to enter:

“Each piece is watched with so much respect for the people who created it. The amount of good digital storytelling being produced right now is mind-blowing and it’s an important contribution to democracy. I want entrants to know how valued their work is.”

“I think some digital storytellers might be intimidated to enter their work. I hope they do it anyway. If you made something you think is meaningful – enter it. The contest is free to enter. The more diverse viewpoints in the work we see the better.”

Nominees will be announced on 25 February 2020, and the winners will be announced on 16 April 2020.

We want to spotlight the stories that matter. We want to get diverse submissions for the independent jury to consider. The jury can only judge what is entered, so be sure to enter!

Find out more about the Digital Storytelling timeline, categories, prizes, and entry rules.

See all the Digital Storytelling Contest awarded productions

Image credit: Frank van Beek, Hollandse Hoogte