{"id":8540,"date":"2026-08-27T09:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T07:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/photo.dmjx.dk\/?p=8540"},"modified":"2026-08-27T11:55:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T09:55:41","slug":"dicte-sonnichsen-win-the-2026-ecca-dmjx-photojournalism-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/photo.dmjx.dk\/index.php\/2026\/08\/27\/dicte-sonnichsen-win-the-2026-ecca-dmjx-photojournalism-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Dicte S\u00f8nnichsen wins the 2026 ECCA-DMJX Photojournalism Award"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dicte S\u00f8nnichsen<\/a> was announced the winner of the 2026 ECCA-DMJX Photojournalism Award<\/a> at the award ceremony at DMJX Tuesday, August 25, 2026. With the main prize comes 100,000 Danish Kroner to continue her project Untamed Lands<\/em>. The three runner-up projects by Sigrid Elles\u00f8e, Thea T\u00f8nnesvang, Zifan Zhang and August Vinther each receive 30,000 Danish Kroner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dicte S\u00f8nnichsen (right) when she was announced the winner of the 2026 ECCA-DMJX Photojournalism Award. Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“Dicte\u2019s powers of observation reveal themselves in the smallest details; she has a masterful ability to capture a contradiction on a small scale; a girl\u2019s hand touching a warm horse, while the nail polish is missing from one finger. Her images exert a pull that the viewer cannot resist. One is captivated, transported to that \u201cuntamed land\u201d even though Dicte herself is not present. With her camera, she has merely opened the door to this community – or rather, cracked it open just a tiny bit. For there is so much more lying beyond it. We want to know more about this America, to see and understand it, Dicte. Show it to us!”<\/em>
\u2013 Am\u00e9lie Schneider, jury member and director of photography, Die Zeit

Dicte S\u00f8nnichsen made the project during her fourth term in the spring 2025 and with the grant money, she will continue to follow the girl’s community in the following years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jury member Rehab Eldalil giving Dicte S\u00f8nnichsen a hug after Dicte was announced the main winner of the ECCA-DMJX Photojournalism Award.<\/em> To the left it is Alex Dahldorph, grants and partnership associate, ECCA Family Foundation.<\/em> Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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All the award winners together with jury members Rehab Eldalil and Alex Dahldorph.<\/em>
Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rehab Eldalil showing Zifan Zhang his prize diploma.<\/em> Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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2026 ECCA-DMJX Photojournalism Award winners from left:
August Vinther, Zifan Zhang, Dicte S\u00f8nnichsen and Thea T\u00f8nnesvang. Sigrid Elles\u00f8e was not able to attend the ceremony due to work.<\/em> Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Before the main winner was announced, the four nominees presented their projects to the DMJX photojournalism students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thea T\u00f8nnesvang presenting her and Sigrid Elles\u00f8e’s project ‘Push Start’.<\/em>
\u2018<\/strong>Push Start\u2019 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\u2019s 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. The movie was made by Sigrid Elles\u00f8e and Thea T\u00f8nnesvang<\/em> during their third term video documentary in the fall 2023 and continued as their BA-project in the fall 2025.<\/em>
Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Zifan Zhang presenting his project ‘Fading Dream’ online from Uzbekistan.<\/em>
Following the 2024 Crocus City Hall attack, Russia tightened migration policies and deported thousands of Tajik workers, disrupting a migration system vital to Tajikistan\u2019s economy and many families\u2019 survival. Back in Dushanbe, deportees compete for scarce, poorly paid construction jobs as debt and family separation deepen. With the \u201cRussian Dream\u201d fading, some young Tajiks are beginning to look toward China as a powerful but uncertain alternative. Zifan Zhang<\/em> made Fading Dream as his final Diploma Project in the fall 2025<\/em>. Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Students listening to the presentations of the nominated projects. Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dicte S\u00f8nnichsen presenting her project ‘Untamed Lands’.<\/em>
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\u2019ve been on horseback for as long as they can remember and aren\u2019t afraid to get their hands dirty. They are deeply connected to the land and nature \u2013 and they\u2019re all part of the same rodeo team in Colorado. Dicte S\u00f8nnichsen<\/em> made the project as her fourth term documentary in the spring 2025<\/em>.
Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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August Vinther showing his project ‘Damaged Angel’.<\/em>
For as long as she can remember, 23-year-old Olivia has dreamt of having a woman\u2019s body. But Denmark\u2019s healthcare system won\u2019t let her get there before her youth has passed her by. The project documents Olivia\u2019s body and mind before, during and after her gender-affirming surgery.<\/em>
Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The celebration of the winners took place after the award ceremony at the DMJX terrace with a social gathering for all photojournalism students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Three of the winning photographers opening Cava-bottles. From left it is Dicte S\u00f8nnichsen, Thea T\u00f8nnesvang and August Vinther. Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Overall winner of the ECCA-DMJX Photojournalism Award, Dicte S\u00f8nnichsen.
Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
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Mutual welcome and social gathering for all photojournalism students at DMJX. <\/em>
Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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A group of Danish first term students enjoying their pizza at the social gathering.
Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
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Dicte S\u00f8nnichsen in conversation with her fellow seventh term students and one of the other prize winners, Thea T\u00f8nnesvang. Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photo: S\u00f8ren Pagter\/DMJX<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The ECCA-DMJX Photojournalism Award is an bi-annual grant funded by the ECCA Family Foundation<\/a> to support the continuation and publication of projects made by photojournalism students at DMJX.

35 projects were submitted for 2026 ECCA-DMJX Photojournalism Award and the four winners were selected by a jury consisting of:

Rehab Eldalil, documentary photographer and educator
Am\u00e9lie Schneider, director of photography, Die Zeit
Alex Dahldorph, grants and partnership associate, ECCA Family Foundation
Mads Greve, associate professor, DMJX photojournalism
S\u00f8ren Pagter, associate professor and educational coordinator, DMJX photojournalism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Previous recipients of the ECCA-DMJX Photojournalism Award<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2024<\/strong>
Main winner:
Florine Schmid and Marie Ruwet \u2013 With Nature on Our Side<\/em>

Runner-ups:
Liv M\u00f8ller Kastrup and Rikke Kj\u00e6r Poulsen \u2013 Do You See, What I See <\/em>
Mohamed Mahdy \u2013 Here, The Doors Don\u2019t Know Me<\/em>
Christian Falck Wolff \u2013 Generation Climate<\/em>

2022<\/strong>
Main winner:
Louise Herrche Serup and Sarah Hartvigsen Juncker \u2013 You Still Don\u2019t Know My Name<\/em>

Runner-ups:
Mikkel H\u00f8rlyck \u2013  No Man\u2019s Land<\/em>
Fares Zaitoon \u2013 Stranger Tourist<\/em>
Manuel Seoane \u2013  Panoramics of Disaster<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n



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Dicte S\u00f8nnichsen was announced the winner of the 2026 ECCA-DMJX Photojournalism Award at the award ceremony at DMJX Tuesday, August 25, 2026. With the main prize comes 100,000 Danish Kroner to continue her project Untamed Lands. The three runner-up projects by Sigrid Elles\u00f8e, Thea T\u00f8nnesvang, Zifan Zhang and August Vinther<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8560,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/photo.dmjx.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/photo.dmjx.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/photo.dmjx.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/photo.dmjx.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/photo.dmjx.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8540"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/photo.dmjx.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8567,"href":"https:\/\/photo.dmjx.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8540\/revisions\/8567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/photo.dmjx.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/photo.dmjx.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/photo.dmjx.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/photo.dmjx.dk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}