Olivier Jobard wins 2013 Tim Hetherington Grant

Organised by World Press Photo and Human Rights Watch, the Tim Hetherington Grant was created to celebrate the legacy of the photojournalist who was killed in Libya in April 2011. The grant supports a photographer in completing an existing project on a human rights theme.

French photographer Olivier Jobard won the €20,000 grant for his project Dream of a Rain of Perfume, which “shows the human face of migration,” says World Press Photo in a press statement. “In this project Jobard follows two young Afghan men whose lives are threatened by the Taliban. In photography and video, Jobard chronicles their flight to Europe, from dangerous border crossings to intimate, humorous moments. The project’s title comes from the men’s dream of reaching Paris, a city that, they have heard, helicopters spray with perfume every morning.”

Jobard’s work was selected by a committee that included VII Photo member Marcus Bleasdale, Carroll Bogert, deputy executive director for external relations at Human Rights Watch, Pamela Chen, senior photo editor for the National Geographic magazine, Ross Kauffman, documentary film director for Red Light Films and Michiel Munneke, managing director of World Press Photo. 

The committee celebrated Jobard’s dedication to the project. “He has a consistently excellent approach to both video and photography and uses both media to tell a meaningful, important story,” the jury says. “As you watch these men make the transition from their past as Taliban fighters to the Western world, you are drawn into their lives. You want to know what happens to them. Jobard uses the surprises in everyday, anecdotal storytelling to reveal the human side of a global, hard-to-understand issue. He makes us care about these people. Empathy and humor are important elements in his work. Even under the worst of circumstances he allows us to breathe a little bit, and smile.”

Visit www.olivierjobard.com.