César Dezfuli

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César Dezfuli
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Born1991
Madrid
OccupationPhotojournalist
Notable work
Passengers
AwardsWorld Press Photo // European Press Prize // Sony World Photography Awards // Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize
Websitehttps://cesardezfuli.com

César Dezfuli (Madrid, 1991) is a Spanish-Iranian documentary photographer and journalist whose work explores the representation of contemporary migrations and its role in shaping the social imaginary, with a focus on human rights. He has been awarded the World Press Photo[1], the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize[2], and the One Young World Journalist of the Year Award amongst others.

Professional background

Dezfuli studied journalism at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Spain) and undertook academic exchanges at the Poznan School of Social Sciences (Poland) and the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (Argentina). He later completed a postgraduate degree in photojournalism at Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.

After completing his studies, Dezfuli worked as a journalist and photographer for Spanish media outlets such as 20 Minutos and El Periódico de Catalunya, before turning his focus on to developing long-term documentary projects. Since 2014, he has worked as an independent author, and frequently collaborates with international media such as Le Monde and De Volkskrant, while also developing his own projects.

His projects include Kosovo: Estado 51 (2015–2018), reflecting on the symbolic, cultural, and geopolitical presence of the United States in Kosovo; China: Birthing Under Public Domain (2016), about Chinese families who defied the one-child policy; Banjul to Biella (2017–2019), on the reception process in Italy of Malick J., a young Gambian rescued in the Mediterranean; and Adriana. Dreams and Shadows of a Trafficked Woman (2021–ongoing), which follows the journey of recovery and life reconstruction of a survivor of white slave traffic. Between 2023 and 2024, he developed Journeys to a Home[3], commissioned by the Amsterdam City Council exploring the notion of 'home' among refugees settled in the city.

In 2016, Dezfuli began the most representative project of his career to date, Passengers, an ongoing work focused on migrants rescued in the Central Mediterranean route.

Passengers (2016–ongoing)

Passengers is a documentary project initiated by Dezfuli in the summer of 2016 aboard the Iuventa, a rescue ship operated by the German NGO Jugend Rettet. On August 1, 2016, after rescuing 118 people from a drifting rubber boat on the Central Mediterranean route, Dezfuli took a series of front-facing portraits of the rescued passengers, becoming the starting point for this project. His intention was to offer an individualized representation of each of them, in contrast to the reduction of migration to an image of an anonymous mass.

Over time, the work expanded through research, archival imagery, and interviews with some of the individuals, portrayed across the different European countries where they've settled, resulting in a multidisciplinary and evolving project. According to the author, the project now includes the location of over 105 people and the reunion with 75 of them.

Passengers has received recognition from World Press Photo[4] (Open Format, Europe region, 2023), the European Press Prize[5] (Migration Journalism Award, 2023), the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize[6] (2017), and the Sony World Photography Awards[7] (2020). It also has obtained support from programs like the CatchLight Fellowship[8] (2020). The project was included in the premiere 2023 World Press Photo exhibition at De Nieuwe Kerk (Amsterdam) and its touring show presented in over one hundred cities worldwide, throughout 2023 and 2024. It has also been exhibited in international festivals and galleries including Kyotographie[9] (Japan), Centro Cultural de España[10] in Uruguay and Peru, PhEST[11] (Italy), and PHOTO 2024[12] (Australia), among others.

In their statement, the jury of World Press Photo emphasized that "the project was focused and made excellent choices about what parts of the story to follow in order to bring humanity to a group of people who are often othered across Europe and in mainstream media." [13] Passengers is considered as a reference in new documentary narratives on migration, shifting the focus from statistics to identifiable individuals and their stories.

Awards and accolades (selection)

  • Catchlight Impact Fund[14]. USA. (2025)
  • One Young World Journalist of the Year[15]. UK. (2024)
  • World Press Photo. Open Format category. European region[16]. Netherlands. (2023)
  • European Press Prize. Migration Journalism Award[17]. Netherlands. (2023)
  • INJUVE Award for Photojournalism[18]. Spain. (2020)
  • Catchlight Fellowship[19]. USA. (2020)
  • Sony World Photography Awards, Portrait category. 1st Prize[20]. UK. (2020)
  • Premio Luchetta of Journalism. Finalist[21]. Italy. (2020)
  • Visionary Award, Tim Hetherington Trust. Finalist[22]. UK. (2020)
  • Visa d’or Franceinfo: Award for the Best Digital News Story. Visa Pour L´Image. Special Mention of the Jury[23]. Perpignan, France. (2019)
  • Premio Luis Valtueña de Fotografía Humanitaria. Finalist[24]. Spain. (2019)
  • Pictures of the Year International Awards. Portrait Category. 3rd Prize[25]. USA. (2018)
  • Hellerau Portrait Awards. 2nd Prize[26]. Germany. (2018)
  • Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize. 1st Prize[27]. UK. (2017)
  • Head On Photo Festival Portrait Awards. 1st Prize[28]. Australia. (2017)
  • Pictures of the Year Latin America. Nuestra Mirada. 1st Prize[29]. (2017)

Solo exhibitions (selection)

  • Passengers. Festival Zoom Photo[30]. Saguenay, Montreal, Canada. (2025)
  • Passengers. Festival Internacional de Fotografía de Castilla y León[31]. Palencia, Spain. (2025)
  • Journeys to a Home. Stadsloket Oost[32]. Amsterdam, The Netherlands. (2025)
  • Passengers. PhEST[33]. Monopoli, Italy. (2024)
  • Passengers. Bucharest Photofest[34]. Bucharest, Romania. (2024)
  • Passengers. Nostre Mar. SOS Racisme[35]. Perpignan, France. (2024)
  • Passengers. iMEdD International Journalism Forum[36]. Athens, Greece. (2023)
  • Passengers. Kyotographie Festival[37]. Kyoto, Japan. (2023)
  • Passengers. Centro Cultural de España[38]. Lima, Peru. (2022)
  • Passengers. Centro Cultural de España[39]. Montevideo, Uruguay. (2022)
  • Banjul to Biella. Kolga Tbilisi Photo[40]. Tbilisi, Georgia. (2022)
  • Passengers. Alianza Francesa[41]. Malaga, España. (2020)
  • Or Does It Explode? UICA[42]. Michigan, USA. (2019)
  • Passengers. Verzasca Foto Festival[43]. Sonogno, Switzerland. (2019)
  • Passengers. Guernsey Photography Festival[44]. Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. (2018)
  • Passengers. PhEST[45]. Monopoly, Italy. (2017)
  • Banjul to Biella. Palazzo Ferrero[46]. Biella, Italy. (2017)

Group exhibitions (selection)

  • Passengers. Africa Foto Fair[47]. Abidjan, Ivory Coast. (2025)
  • Passengers. OFF Bratislava[48]. Bratislava, Slovakia. (2025)
  • Passengers. LagosPhoto Festival[49]. Lagos, Nigeria. (2025)
  • The Family of Migrants. FENIX Museum of Migration. Rotterdam, Netherlands. (2025)
  • People Scans. Portraits Katalogrückschau 2016—2024[50]. Fotoforum Dresden, Germany. (2025)
  • Passengers. FestComarcas24[51]. Huelva, Spain. (2024)
  • Un cambio de paradigma. Sala de Arte Joven[52]. Madrid, Spain. (2024)
  • Passengers. Felix Schoeller Photo Award[53]. Willy-Brandt-Haus, Berlin, Germany. (2023)
  • Passengers. German Peace Prize for Photography. Museum Quarter. Osnabrück, Germany. (2023)
  • Gone with the lava. Sony WPA 2023. Somerset House[54]. London, UK. (2023)
  • Passengers. World Press Photo 2023 flagship exhibition[55]. De Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. (2023)
  • Passengers. European Contemporary Photography Contest. ‘¿Y mañana?’[56]. Goethe Institut Madrid. Spain. (2022)
  • Passengers. Fotonoviembre. Salón Internacional de Fotografía[57]. Matanzas, Cuba. (2022)
  • 25th Anniversary Luis Valtueña International Photography Award. Cervantes Institute[58]. Dakar, Senegal. (2022)
  • Passengers. Contemporary African Prize exhibition. Art Basel[59]. Basel, Switzerland. (2021)
  • Passengers at SET Gallery. Bird in Flight Prize[60]. Kiev, Ukraine. (2019)
  • Banjul to Biella. Luis Valtueña Award. Caixa Forum[61]. Madrid, Spain. (2019)
  • Passengers. Addis Foto Fest[62]. Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. (2018)
  • Hellerau Portrait Awards. European Center for the Arts. Dresden, Germany. (2018)
  • Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize. National Portrait Gallery[63]. London, UK. (2017)
  • Banjul to Biella. Paraty em Foco[64]. Paraty, Brazil. (2017)
  • Se Alquila Estado. CC Juan de Salazar[65]. Asunción, Paraguay. (2016)
  • Balcanes, 20 años de Srebrenica. Aleatorio Cultural[66]. Madrid, España. (2016)

Work in collections

  • FENIX Museum of Migration. Rotterdam, Netherlands.
  • Museumsquartier. Osnabrück, Germany.
  • Norton Museum of Art. West Palm Beach, FL. USA.
  • ASISA Foundation. Madrid, Spain.

References

  1. ↑ "Passengers | World Press Photo". www.worldpressphoto.org. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  2. ↑ "Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2017 - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  3. ↑ "JOURNEYS TO A HOME". hallowatergraafsmeer.nl (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  4. ↑ "Passengers | World Press Photo". www.worldpressphoto.org. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  5. ↑ "César Dezfuli". European Press Prize. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  6. ↑ "Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2017 - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  7. ↑ "OVERALL WINNERS 2023".
  8. ↑ "César Dezfuli". CatchLight. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  9. ↑ "Program 2023: César Dezfuli - 2023". KYOTOGRAPHIE 京都国際写真祭. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  10. ↑ "Pasajeros: de Banjul a Biella | Centro de Fotografía de Montevideo". cdf.montevideo.gub.uy. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  11. ↑ "CÉSAR DEZFULI". phest (in italiano). Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  12. ↑ "Passengers". PHOTO Australia. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  13. ↑ "Passengers | World Press Photo". www.worldpressphoto.org. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  14. ↑ staff, CatchLight (2025-11-21). "CatchLight Global: An Ongoing Movement". CatchLight. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  15. ↑ "Journalist of the Year Award | One Young World". www.oneyoungworld.com. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  16. ↑ "Passengers | World Press Photo". World Press Photo. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  17. ↑ "César Dezfuli". European Press Prize. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  18. ↑ "Vídeo acto de entrega de los Premios Injuve de Periodismo y Comunicación 2020 y 2021 | Injuve, Instituto de la Juventud". injuve.es (in español). Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  19. ↑ "César Dezfuli". CatchLight. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  20. ↑ "César Dezfuli, Spain | World Photography Organisation". www.worldphoto.org. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  21. ↑ "Comunicato Stampa - 29/05/2020". Premio Luchetta (in italiano). 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  22. ↑ "Tim Hetherington Trust | Shortlisted nominees: The Visionary Award from the Tim Hetherington Trust 2020 6 May 2020". Tim Hetherington Trust. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  23. ↑ ""Made in France" reçoit le Visa d'or de l'information numérique". lejdd.fr (in français). 2019-09-06. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  24. ↑ "César Dezfuli Rello - Banjul to Biella". Premio Internacional Luis Valtueña Fotografía Humanitaria (in español). Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  25. ↑ "Third Place | Portrait". poy.org. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  26. ↑ "Prize Winners". PORTRAITS – Hellerau Photography Award. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  27. ↑ "Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2017 - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  28. ↑ "Winners Announced! – Head On Photo Festival". headon.org.au. 2017-05-06. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  29. ↑ "Behind the Numbers | POY Latam". poylatam.photoshelter.com. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
  30. ↑ "Invited photographers for the Zoom Photo Festival 2025". Zoom Photo Festival Saguenay. 2025-08-25. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  31. ↑ "CÉSAR DEZFULI". V Festival Internacional de Fotografía de Castilla y León (in spanish). Retrieved 2026-01-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  32. ↑ Meursing, Eric. "JOURNEYS TO A HOME". Hallo Watergraafsmeer (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  33. ↑ "CÉSAR DEZFULI". phest (in italiano). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  34. ↑ "PASSENGERS, CÉSAR DEZFULI, ES-IR | Exhibition". Bucharest Photofest. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  35. ↑ Torres, Maïté (2024-06-03). "À Perpignan, SOS Racisme dévoile le programme de la troisième édition du festival Nostre Mar". MADE IN PERPIGNAN (in français). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  36. ↑ Schinas, George (2023-12-21). "The faces behind the numbers: César Dezfuli's "Passengers"". iMEdD Lab. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  37. ↑ "César Dezfuli, Passengers". KYOTOGRAPHIE 京都国際写真祭. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  38. ↑ Iglesias, Almudena (2022-10-06). "La muestra "Pasajeros", del español César Dezfuli, será presentada en Lima". La Región (in español). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  39. ↑ "CdF presenta la muestra "Pasajeros"". Intendencia Montevideo (in spanish). Retrieved 2026-01-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  40. ↑ "Banjul to Biella". kolga.ge. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  41. ↑ "Exposición Passagers de César Dezfuli". Alianza Francesa de Málaga (in español). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  42. ↑ "César Dezfuli at Or Does it Explode? | A Spanish cultural event in Grand Rapids on". SPAIN arts & culture is the official website for the promotion of Spain's arts and culture in the USA. 2025-11-07. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  43. ↑ "Verzasca Foto Festival". Verzasca Foto Festival (in italiano). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  44. ↑ "GPF 2018". Monika Drabot. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  45. ↑ Redazione (2017-09-18). "PhEST, 2500 visitatori in sette giorni per il Festival internazionale di fotografia a Monopoli". ilikepuglia - Magazine di informazione regionale della Puglia (in italiano). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  46. ↑ Romagnoli, Simona (2017-09-24). "Da Lampedusa a Biella negli scatti di Dezfuli". La Stampa (in italiano). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  47. ↑ "Africa Foto Fair 2025 - exhibiting photographers". Africa Foto Fair. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  48. ↑ "TRIP WITHOUT A TICKET". OFF Bratislava. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  49. ↑ PhotoVogue (2025-10-25). "LagosPhoto Biennial: The inaugural edition on incarceration and photography as resistance". Vogue. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  50. ↑ "Archiv der Augenblicke | 23 März - 19 April 2025 - Overview". Katerina Belkina (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  51. ↑ "César Dezfuli – We are photo" (in español). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  52. ↑ "Exposición "Un cambio de paradigma"". Comunidad de Madrid (in español). 2024-01-17. Archived from the original on 2025-04-18. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  53. ↑ Schiller, Julia (2023-07-14). "Freundeskreis Willy-Brandt-Haus | »Felix Schoeller Photo Award 2023: Deutscher Friedenspreis für Fotografie« • PiB (Photography in Berlin)". PiB (Photography in Berlin). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  54. ↑ "Gone with the Lava by Cesar Dezfuli | World Photography Organisation". www.worldphoto.org. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  55. ↑ "Winners' Program | World Press Photo". www.worldpressphoto.org. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  56. ↑ https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf315/final_catalogodigital_ymanana_whatabouttomorrow.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOoosj6HmQhPUK_IOasfij2cV5u5myTpozrH1z3yFgQB59nNj7GtK Template:Bare URL PDF
  57. ↑ Girón, Periódico (2022-10-27). "Matanzas tendrá un otoño dedicado a la fotografía - Periódico Girón" (in español). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  58. ↑ Filgueira, Eva (2022-04-25). "Inauguración en Dakar de la exposición 25 años de fotografía humanitaria Luis Valtueña". Premio Internacional Luis Valtueña Fotografía Humanitaria (in español). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  59. ↑ Kilt, M'hammed. "IAF Basel - CAP Prize Winners Exhibition". M'hammed Kilito. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  60. ↑ "Bird in Flight Prize '19". Bird In Flight. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  61. ↑ "Premio Internacional Luis Valtueña | Exposición". CaixaForum Madrid (in español). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  62. ↑ https://addisfotofest.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Addis-Foto-Fest_-Publication_2018-Edition.pdf Template:Bare URL PDF
  63. ↑ "Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2017 - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  64. ↑ "PEF - Paraty em Foco 2017". paraty2017 (in português). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  65. ↑ "SeAlquila ESTADO / Asunción de Paraguay". Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  66. ↑ "Del 10 al 27 de febrero: Balcanes, 20 años de Srebrenica. GPress Photografy. (Agencia de noticias y escuela de reporteros) | Ayuntamiento de San Fernando de Henares". www.ayto-sanfernando.com (in español). Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2026-01-29.

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