Catalan photographer Samuel Nacar, awarded by the World Press Photo

BarcelonaCatalan photographer Samuel Nacar (Barcelona, ​​1992) has been awarded the World Press Photo 2025 prize for a photojournalism project on Syrian prison survivors. The photo essay, entitled The shadows already have a name and published in the magazine 5W, is an account of the torture suffered by men imprisoned during the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad. Nacar is one of 42 regional winners of the international photojournalism competition, which today announced the winners from six global regions: Africa; Asia-Pacific and Oceania; Europe; Central and North America; South America; and Western, Central, and Southern Asia. The award for the best photograph of the year will be announced on April 17.

For Nacar, who in 2020 won the Joana Biarnés scholarship for young photojournalists, the project for which he was awarded "is the closing of ten years of coverage of migration routes, especially the Syrian exodus." The photo report, published in 5W It was accompanied by texts by journalist Agus Morales, and Nacar explains that it was very difficult for them to find a media outlet that would accept their work. "Agus [Morales] and I spent two months trying to publish this report on a global scale, but no one wanted the story. Accepting rejection is great, but when you receive recognition like this, it fills you with pride," he said in statements to the Photographic Social Vision Foundation, which organizes the World Press Photo Awards. For the photojournalist, his report should serve as a reminder that Syria "has been in civil war for ten years and there is still constant violence in the streets." "It's essential to understand how we have treated people who were literally fleeing war, a dictator, prisons, torture, and mass graves," he says.

Nacar, who won in the photo reportage category, is not the only photographer from Spain to have been recognized by the World Press Photo 2025. Luis Tato, from Ciudad Real, received an award for the photo reportage Youth revolt in Kenya , made for Agence France-Presse, about the protests in Kenya following the tax increase imposed in 2024 by the National Treasury and the resulting economic hardship. Although the bill was withdrawn, demonstrations have continued into 2025. Tato's images reflect young people's distrust of the political class and outrage over police brutality and corruption. The photographer began his career in The Vanguard and later moved to Kenya, where he currently works, primarily covering East Africa for Agence France-Presse. In 2021, Tato was already nominated for World Press Photo of the Year for an image of the worst desert locust plague the country has experienced in 70 years.

This year, World Press Photo featured 3,778 photographers from 141 countries and 59,320 photographs. The 42 regional winners—20 of whom are locals to the region where they captured their stories—come from 30 countries.