The great Italian comic actor Antonio De Curtis, stage-name Totò, said that making people laugh is far more difficult than making them cry. Transferring this concept to photography one could say that the portrayal of drama, suffering or tragedy is easier than portraying happiness.
On this premise, our Happiness ONTHEMOVE prize was introduced to the festival as the in-house competition in partnership with Consorzio Vino Chianti (Chianti wine producers' consortium) and with the media partnership of Pagina99.
For this contest, all photographers are charged with the task of documenting happiness, the joy of life and the beauty that surrounds us while boldly challenging the old truism which claims "no news is good news".
It's not by pure chance that we talk about extreme challenges.
In this image-obsessed, social-media age we have created, happiness has been devalued to a mere platitude. A sort of contrived theatrical, or situational comedy depicting the subject of the 'selfie' during a snatched moment of false euphoria to be flashed before their 'friends' (and perfect strangers), thereby reducing the concept to a purely superficial dimension in an endlessly repeatable series of clichés.
The challenge of Happiness ONTHEMOVE is to find stories that explore the deeper aspects of happiness. Everyday stories. Stories that at first glance seem quite ordinary, but which nevertheless make us smile and give us glimpses of the realistic happiness of life: not always easy, not always visible. Above all - never banal.
The winning entry, selected by an international jury, will win 5.000 euros and will be exhibited at Cortona On The Move 2018.
Event informations
You can send in your application to take part in the ONTHEMOVE Happiness Award from April 10 until 23:59 hrs (Central European Time) on May 21, 2017.
The winning entry will be selected and announced on June 19th, 2017
- The winner's name will be published on the COTM website
- The winning entry will be presented on Saturday, July 15th 2017, during the festival inauguration
- The winning entry will be exhibited at the 2018 edition of Cortona On the Move
- Elena Boille - Internazionale
- Krzysztof Candrowicz - Triennal of photography Hamburg
- Antonio Carloni – Cortona On The Move
- Alice Gabriner – Time
- Anna Iuzzolini – Pagina 99
- Sarah Leen - National Geographic
- Elisa Medde - Foam
- Ute Noll – Du magazine
- Arianna Rinaldo - Cortona On The Move
- Scott Thode - Visura