The nominees for the 2026 ECCA – DMJX Photojournalism Award are…..

Mads Greve7 hours ago on news

Out of 35 submitted projects, we’re happy to announce the four projects nominated for the 2026 ECCA-DMJX Photojournalism Award. Each nominated project will receive 30,000 Danish Kroner and the overall winner will receive additional 70,000 Danish Kroner. Each project will be presented and the main winner will be announced at an award ceremony at DMJX on Tuesday, August 25 from 3pm.

Among the submissions, I discovered several stories with enormous potential. The overall quality was impressive – both in terms of visual presentation and regarding forward-looking approaches to modern journalism. As a jury member, I was won over by the students’ confidence and optimism in their choice of topics, as well as their empathetic treatment of their subjects. 
Working in the media industry myself, I specifically looked for stories that rarely appear in mainstream media coverage — and we found them! High-level politics told through the lives of ordinary people from around the world: by bringing their stories to light, we honor their communities and their values. 
A magnificent achievement by everyone involved. You made the jury’s task truly difficult. Heartfelt congratulations to the four nominees.
– Amélie Schneider, jury member and director of photography at Die Zeit.

The nominated projects are

Fading Dream
Zifan Zhang

Following the 2024 Crocus City Hall attack, Russia tightened migration policies and deported thousands of Tajik workers, disrupting a migration system vital to Tajikistan’s economy and many families’ survival. Back in Dushanbe, deportees compete for scarce, poorly paid construction jobs as debt and family separation deepen. With the “Russian Dream” fading, some young Tajiks are beginning to look toward China as a powerful but uncertain alternative.
Photo from the project made by Zifan Zhang as his final Diploma Project in the fall 2025.

“Fading Dream demonstrates profound investigative insight into an important but often overlooked issue: the changing migration policies in Russia for Tajik migrants. Zifan’s beautifully made portraits sequenced with candid nuanced photographs of the protagonists’ daily lives, provide a humane and informed perspective. The project is political and highly relatable. I look forward to seeing how it develops further”.
– Rehab Eldalil, jury member, documentary photographer and educator.

Push Start
Sigrid Ellesøe and Thea Tønnesvang

‘Push Start’ is a documentary film, portraying the twin brothers Karl and Thomas and their path from their early teen years to adulthood.  Karl and Thomas grow up on the small island Fur in the north of Denmark. They spend all their free time together in their father’s truck workshop, fixing vehicles and broken mopeds, both dreaming of following the footsteps of their father. But as Karl and Thomas grow older, things are changing. At the age of 16, they have to leave the island to pursue their similar, yet individual, dreams for the future. Screen shot from the movie made by Sigrid Ellesøe and Thea Tønnesvang during their third term video documentary in the fall 2023 and continued as their BA-project in the fall 2025.

“Thea and Sigrid have chosen a promising starting point for their documentary. Karl and Thomas are at the age of 16 and live on a small island in North Jutland. What is it like to grow up in rural Denmark? What is it like to be 16? And what is it like to be a twin anyway?
The two photojournalists have already demonstrated their talent in two short documentaries. The visual quality, editing and sound indicate that they are well on their way to creating a compelling feature-length documentary”.
– Amélie Schneider, jury member and director of photography at Die Zeit.

Untamed Lands
Dicte Sønnichsen

In the American West, girls are raised by their fathers to be self-reliant. From a young age, they learn how to drive a pickup truck so that they later can haul their horses in a trailer. These are girls whose biggest wish for their 21st birthday is a handgun. Girls who have never left the country or seen the ocean. They’ve been on horseback for as long as they can remember and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. They are deeply connected to the land and nature – and they’re all part of the same rodeo team in Colorado. Photo from the project made by Dicte Sønnichsen as her fourth term documentary in the spring 2025.

“Everything about Dicte’s images is precise, full of life and seems to breathe. Yet it is a breath charged with tension – shallow enough to tame an animal, yet deep enough to maintain focus.
The strength of her work lies in that focus, striking a balance between detachment and intimacy. We see no backlit cowboy silhouettes, no Marlboro-style romanticism. We see the identity of a community while simultaneously looking into the eyes of vulnerable beings – girls and the animals they command. Her images exert a pull that the viewer cannot resist. One is captivated, transported to that Untamed Land“.
– Amélie Schneider, director of photography, Die Zeit

Damaged Angel
August Vinther

For as long as she can remember, 23-year-old Olivia has dreamt of having a woman’s body. But Denmark’s healthcare system won’t let her get there before her youth has passed her by. The project documents Olivia’s body and mind before, during and after her gender-affirming surgery.
Photo from the project made by August Vinther as his final BA Project in the fall 2025

“August has produced such a delicate, emotional and raw depiction of Olivia’s experience which can only be done through collaboration. The trust both the photographer and protagonist have towards one another is very obvious in the work and very much appreciated. The submission demonstrates a wide creative spectrum where August and Olivia communicate through various mediums”.
– Rehab Eldalil, jury member, documentary photographer and educator.

The Jury Process
35 projects were submitted for 2026 ECCA-DMJX Photojournalism Award. This is double the amount of the 2024 edition of the award.

“Judging this year’s open call was a delightful challenge. The overall quality was outstanding; most submissions reflected a clear, thoughtful approach to storytelling. I was particularly impressed by the sheer number of photographers who brought strong ethical awareness and deep subject-matter knowledge to their work.”
– Rehab Eldalil, jury member, documentary photographer and educator.

The five-people jury received and read the 35 applications prior to the three-hour long online meeting that was held Monday, August 10. In the first part of the jury meeting, each jury member presented and argued in favour of their top-five candidates. This resulted in a selection of 13 candidates that were thoroughly discussed in the second part of the meeting. The 13 candidates became 10 and then eight, before the jury finally agreed on the nominees and the overall winner.

11 applications came from international students and 14 from international students. Seven projects included or were only told through video.

The jury members were:
Rehab Eldalil, documentary photographer and educator
Amélie Schneider, director of photography, Die Zeit
Alex Dahldorph, grants and partnership associate, ECCA Family Foundation
Mads Greve, associate professor, DMJX photojournalism
Søren Pagter, associate professor and educational coordinator, DMJX photojournalism