Inside AFP

The festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year – the theme of the event is Nature as Heritage, a reminder of its mission to work towards a more responsible world.

The exhibition Looking at the world, eyes wide open will feature images by AFP photographer Yasuyoshi Chiba, AFP Chief Photographer for East Africa and the Indian Ocean.

Based in Nairobi, he follows the upheavals of an African continent that, year after year, suffers painful hardships, such as endemic drought, inter-ethnic violence, rural exodus and endangered nature.

Each of his shots – a herd of elephants in search of water, an old woman in distress – is composed as a story in its own right. He travels the world, from Brazil to war-torn Ukraine, bearing witness to the tumult of current events and conjuring up clear, frozen moments out of the chaos of the world. Like that World Press Photo 2020 prize-winning photograph of a young student, his face lit up by mobile phones, reciting a poem in the middle of a crowd at a demonstration in Khartoum, Sudan.

La Gacilly Photo Festival offers visitors an immersive experience as they wander through some thirty large-format open-air galleries, showcasing the very best in contemporary photography.
 

The exhibition is open to the public at Jardin de l'Aff garden.

Check out the full programme