Ricardo Garcia Vilanova (born 1971, Barcelona) is a freelance Catalan
photojournalist
Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...
and videojournalist, specialized in conflict zones and humanitarian crises. He has reported on the
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...
and
ISIS
Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
conflicts. He has published his work for journals and magazines like ''Life, Newsweek, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, Liberation, Paris Match, The Guardian, The Times, Die Welt, Der Spiegel, Stern'', and many more. As a freelance video journalist, he has worked with
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
, BBC, Aljazeera, Channel 4, VICE, PBS, and Euronews, among others.
Biography
He studied photography at the
Polytechnic University of Catalonia
The Polytechnic University of Catalonia (, , ; UPC), currently referred to as BarcelonaTech, is the largest polytechnic university in Catalonia, Spain.
UPC's objectives are based on internationalization, as it is one of Europe's techni ...
. He also studied image and sound at the School of Audiovisual Media of Barcelona ( EMAV). He started as a freelance journalist in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, working for NGOs. In
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
he met
James Wellford
James may refer to:
People
* James (given name)
* James (surname)
* James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician
* James, brother of Jesus
* King James (disambiguation), various kings named James
* Prince James ...
, publisher of the
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
American magazine. Welford opened him the door to other international media, such as the
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
, whose cover came to publish his works.
In November 2011, as part of the so-called
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...
Idlib
Idlib (, ; also spelt Idleb or Edlib) is a city in northwestern Syria, and is the capital of the Idlib Governorate. It has an elevation of nearly above sea level, and is southwest of Aleppo. It is located near the border with Turkey.
History
...
, and attended the first demonstrations against the
Bashar al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator
Sources characterising Assad as a dictator:
who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...
regime. Ricard Garcia Vilanova works with both a camera and a video camera. He uses a wide-angle lens for both tools. During the
Libyan civil war
Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the United Nations Demographic Yearbooks ...
, Garcia Vilanova made, together with
Alberto Arce
Alberto is the Romance languages, Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic languages, Germanic ''Albert (given name), Albert''. It is used in Italian language, Italian, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language, ...
, his first documentary, ''Misrata, to win or die'' (2011), a
Rory Peck Award
The Rory Peck Award is an award given to freelance camera operators who have risked their lives to report on newsworthy events.Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
in October 2011 and followed that country's conflict from the first popular protests until March 2014. During the Syrian Civil War, on September 16, 2013, he was abducted with journalist Javier. Thorny at the border control of
Tell Abyad
Tell Abyad is a town in northern Syria. It is the administrative center of the Tell Abyad District within the Raqqa Governorate. Located along the Balikh River, it constitutes a divided city with the bordering city of Akçakale in Turkey.
Hist ...
, in the governorate of Ar-Raqqa, by Islamic State, as they attempted to leave Syria after two weeks covering the conflict. On October 4, the journalist Marc Marginedas had also been captured in Syria.
In 2015, the ''Ricard Garcia Vilanova, llampades en la foscor'' solo exhibit took place at La Virreina Center of Image, in Barcelona, curated by Ricard Mas Peinado.
Prizes and awards
He was candidate for the Pulitzer Prize in 2010, as promoted by The Wall Street Journal. Since then, he has been awarded with PX3 four times, and is a two-time winner from the following organisations: Pictures of the Year (POY), International Photography Awards (IPA), Moscow International Foto Awards, and LensCulture. He has also received awards from the Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award, National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), Days Japan International, Mika Yamamoto International Journalist Award, and the International Press Club. As a video journalist, he has received the
Rory Peck award
The Rory Peck Award is an award given to freelance camera operators who have risked their lives to report on newsworthy events.World Press Photo of the Year Award.
Publications
* ''Fade to black. Rise and fall of the caliphate of ISIS. 2011-2019 Syria, Iraq and Libya''