"If anyone doesn't want to believe there's hunger in Gaza, they should go knead mud."

Barcelona"For a long time, the main criticism of the festival was that it was too dark, too violent, too pessimistic. Unfortunately, we were ahead of our time." With this phrase, Jean-François Leroy, director of Visa pour l'Image, heads this year's festival program. "If you watch television and read the newspapers, you'll see that the world is dark. Our goal is to show the real world. Not princesses, not soccer players: the real world," he tells ARA.

The Perpignan photojournalism festival has been forcing us to look where it belongs for 37 years, whether we like it or not. From August 30th to September 14th, 28 exhibitions, dozens of screenings, talks and workshops featuring the best photojournalism for the worst tragedies will be available for free at different venues: Gaza, Ukraine and Trump's United States, but also the state of emergency in El Salvador, the uncontrollable devastation in the megalopolises of the South, the repression of women in Afghanistan and what is happening in countries that never appear in the news, such as Congo, Somalia and Kashmir.

Leroy is not one to mince words, and Visa pour el Image follows his direct and unanaesthetized philosophy. Do you think that fake news that are spread through social media are a danger? "Visa pour el Image is the exact opposite of that; it's the real world, it's the truth. I trust the reputation of photographers; I know they're not fooling us and they see the world as it is," he says. Does he think runaway AI poses a challenge? "Real journalism will reject any image created by AI. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that AI will revalue photojournalism." What do you think about the fact that there is denialism even when looking at photographs, for example of hunger in Gaza? "If someone doesn't want to believe there's hunger in Gaza, they can go and knead mud."fuck them", he blurts out. "If you don't want to see the truth and don't want to believe what you see, I'm sorry, you're blind and you choose to be stupid, and I don't care."

The festival must take a stand every year with the choice of exhibitions it programs. "Visa has no reason to be politically correct. Again: we show reality," repeats Leroy, who laments the difficulties photojournalists have in working in decent conditions: "Magazines and newspapers around the world have less and less money. It's a shame." 40 years ago, the magazine Paris Match distributed a million copies weekly, and today it is less than half. "Being freelance It's certainly harder than ever: it's a constant struggle with no guarantees," says photojournalist Adam Gray.

"The Disunited States of America"

Adam Gray covered the assault on the Capitol of the United States. "The division within American society had always existed, but it really surfaced during 2020. The coronavirus pandemic, the Black Lives Matter protests after the murder of George Floyd and the far-right protests against the antifa and against COVID restrictions exacerbated polarization. January 6, 2021, was the peak, he explains in the ARA. The day began with the third major demonstration. Stop the stealWe expected violence, but nothing on the scale of what happened. We believed they would be arrested much sooner. I focused on documenting the events as best I could, and I worked without harassment. Unfortunately, I witnessed the fatal shooting of Ashli ​​Babbitt by a Capitol Hill officer. It was a violent and traumatic day. The magnitude of the events and their significance didn't hit me until that evening when I sat in my hotel room with my colleagues and watched the news. At that moment, I couldn't imagine the return of Donald Trump. Now even some of those who went to prison for that are running for public office," she explains.

Gray then had access to Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. "I wanted to capture an honest reflection of his inner life and personality. The room itself says a lot about him: his taste for grandeur and opulence is everywhere." He always projects confidence and knows exactly how he wants to be seen," Gray explains via email. He also photographed Zelensky at the UN General Assembly in New York. "I wanted to show the weight he carried: the seriousness of his gaze says it all. For me, a portrait should reveal something about the person: the human side of someone who has become a symbol," he says.

At Visa pour el Image he exhibits American Madness, a portrait of what he calls the "Disunited States of America," "surreal, turbulent and contradictory" scenes captured in recent years for agencies and media such as Le Figaro and De Volkskrant: from Elon Musk with Milei's chainsaw to an inflatable Ronald McDonald flying over pro-Palestinian protesters, including the record migration at the border. "As a British photographer [now based in New York] I am constantly surprised by the contradictions and absurdities I find here, things I've never seen anywhere else. These photographs are my way of contributing to putting this society into context and understanding it," he explains. The influence of Hurricane Trump is enormous, just remember The threat of "mass deportations" made by reformist Nigel Farage Following the American example. "The US is the main arms supplier to both Israel and Ukraine and remains a key ally in global politics. Democratic norms in the US are under increasing pressure, making what happens there have enormous consequences far beyond its borders. Its political and cultural influence makes what happens impossible to control."

El Salvador: No gang members and no civil liberties

El Salvador is experiencing a dictatorial drift protected by Donald Trump, which has used its prisons as fearsome fate of immigrant deportationsPhotojournalist Juan Carlos is one of the few Salvadorans who have visited the Tecoluca high-security prison, known as CECOT, because it has international press coverage. "The few remaining independent media outlets will never have access," he says.

The exhibition shows what life is like in the iconic macro-prison of the Bukele presidency, which has declared war on the maras and has eliminated violence from the country: 2% of El Salvador's population is incarcerated. "Besides the fact that they don't have mattresses or towels and only get out of their cells for 45 minutes a day, I was struck by the disciplined behavior of the prisoners. They look at you intimidatingly, with their tattoos, but they don't have gang symbols, they don't create chaos. I've been in other prisons where there are gang members, and they are the ones who hold the power. If they have sentences of between 40 and 1,600 years, meaning they will rot or die, what does it matter if they kill someone else? –the photographer asks in the ARA–. At CECOT, no. The prisoners have three meals (eggs, beans, pancakes) and medical attention, but if they don't behave well, not only are they withdrawn, but they are also repressed with violence," says Juan Carlos, who wonders what happens in there when the cameras leave. According to the press, in El Salvador's prisons there is one death every three days since the state of emergency was declared more than three years ago, until March 20, against the contras. In the most dangerous neighborhoods, you can now walk and work in peace. "People are very happy with this security. It has eliminated the power structures of the gangs, the fear and violence. I have entered communities where I couldn't before if I wasn't with the police, I can go anywhere without fear and without asking permission from the gang leaders. But they have also told me that there is still gang members hidden," explains Juan Carlos, who recalls the pacts that have been made between Bukele and the gangs to get votes and bring about pacification.

Bukele says he has imprisoned 85,000 gang criminals. That maintains his popularity and power, already from the US. "They have given Bukele free rein to do whatever he wants. Indefinite reelection. The loss of civil rights. We are defenseless against human rights abuses. The regime arrests the opposition. There are 60 activists and journalists who have had to go into exile. The Prosecutor's Office can keep accused people in pretrial detention without trial for five years, and among them are innocent people and victims of arbitrary arrests. Information cannot be accessed, it is classified," he explains.

As a photojournalist freelanceAre you afraid? "Seeing what happened to other journalists, I'm worried, yes. Anything can happen with this regime. At the same time, I think it's important to stay here and explain what's happening. We want transparency and for the truth to be known. We're not against a new life of peace and tranquility, but we want to know what's been negotiated. What will we have to pay?" The last truce ended in a bloodbath ten years ago. Photojournalism can raise questions and demand answers.