Winners of the 20th Beni Trutmann Photo Contest––where a total of 30 participants submitted 86 photos in the categories of Colour, Black and White, Social Justice and Junior––received their prizes yesterday. First-place awards in the Colour, Black and White, and Social Justice categories carry cash prizes of €500; second-place prizes, €300, and third-place, €200. In Junior, both the first and second prize winners received a Kodak Pixpro AZ422 digital camera.
Vanessa Parellada, culture councillor, congratulated winners and praised everyone that submitted work to the 20-year-old competition. The contest "maintains the same spirit of the photographer that gives it its name, taking care of the island and capturing its landscapes, customs and people". The event is a tribute to Beni Trutmann, the accomplished Swiss photographer who called the island home for 44 years and left it with more than 30,000 photographs evidencing his love for Formentera and its nature.
Colour
The first-prize winning photo in the colour category shows the father of photographer Lluís Mayans i Marí as he contemplates grapes and ponders the harvest that lies ahead. It speaks to the tradition of the countryside and its enduring importance, even today, in the 21st century.
Second-prize winner Wolfang Wicher captured the toiling, lonely work of fishermen in a snapshot during a visit to the island in 2015. The photographer traces his interest in the world of fishing to 1965, when the then-14 Wicher accompanied a fisherman in Es Pujols to retrieve nets near S'Espardell.
Ainhoa Ezkurra Cabello's third-prize winning photograph, "Hortolana sense hort", is a textured monochromatic snapshot that invites reflection on water scarcity and its consequences.
Black and White
First prize in Black and White went to Jaime Franch Rojo for his photo entitled "Entre canyes i fang". The image tells the story of a craftsman in winter who collects reeds from the pond, left on purpose, to use in handicrafts. The peaceful natural surroundings and the hand-picking of the reeds move us to reflect on bygone years.
Josep López Vañó's second-prize winner is "Volando voy, volando vengo y con Paco yo me entretengo". The subject's peaceful gaze exudes the natural quality of someone for whom relaxation is serious business: plucking the guitar with an air of kindness and love everlasting.
Adrián Pinilla Ballester won third prize for his black and white exploration of death: of an island and its people, the elderly in particular, whose legacy is speculated on and sold off.
Social Justice
Jaime Franch Rojo won first-prize in the category of Social Justice for "Phantom fishing": a forgotten net on the floor of the sea near Sa Punta which, as the years go by, continues to work damage on the ecosystem that accommodates it. It reminds us of the importance of looking beneath the surface, and acknowledging our ignorance around all we have yet to learn.
Second and third prizes were not awarded.
Junior
In the Junior category, first prize went to an underwater photograph of a nudibranch in Es Banc. With remarkable delicacy, Laia Bonet Cardona captured this hard-to-find mollusk under a thin translucent layer of light.
Alecsandru Farcas snagged second prize for a photograph combining the darkness of a night in Sant Francesc with a twinkle of light batting away nearby clouds while a woman walks quietly down the street. It is a search for hope and beauty in dark times.
Third prize was not awarded.
Exhibition
A display of this year's submissions and winning shots is on view at Sala d'Exposicions "Ajuntament Vell" from 3 to 13 May. The exhibition will be open 11.00am to 2.00pm and 6.00pm to 8.00pm, except on Monday mornings and Sundays.
3 May 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera
The Office of Tourism of the Consell de Formentera is pleased to report that yesterday 1 May brought celebration of the first-ever Formentera Zen Kids & Families. According to Alejandra Ferrer, vice president and tourism councillor, "more than 150 children and parents participated in this breakout day of health and wellness for individuals and families".
El Consell de Formentera, a través de l'àrea de Cultura, de l'àrea de Joventut i de l'àrea de Turisme, informa que el Formentera Film Festival 2023 se celebra entre el dimarts 16 i el dissabte 20 maig. Seran 5 dies de projeccions i activitats gratuïtes adreçades a tots els públics, amb 45 curtmetratges en competició. Així ho han explicat avui en la presentació del cartell d'aquesta vuitena edició que ha estat il·lustrat per Ricardo Cavolo.
El Consell de Formentera, a través de l'àrea de Comerç, informa que el pròxim dilluns 1 de maig, es comencen a obrir els mercats artesans i artístics a l'illa de Formentera. L'1 de maig s'inicia l'activitat als mercats de Sant Francesc i es Pujols; el dia 3 obrirà el del Pilar de la Mola; el dia 15 de maig, el de la Savina, i el 27 de maig, els mercats artesans i artístics de Sant Ferran.
