The FotoDoc Photo Contest 2025 finalists have been announced. Closing on July 13, the competition received 3,597 submissions from photographers residing in all 27 Brazilian states and internationally.
This edition marks a significant increase in international participation, with entries from 31 countries: South Africa, Germany, Angola, Argentina, Benin, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Spain, United States, Finland, France, Ghana, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Portugal, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
A total of 1,312 entries were selected and published:
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661 Single Images
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441 Photo Essays
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210 Portfolios
After reevaluating all published entries per the Official Rules, 60 finalists were chosen:
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9 Portfolios
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21 Photo Essays
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30 Single Images
A 5-member Jury will convene in person in São Paulo to select:
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25 Category Winners
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1 Grand Prize Portfolio Winner
The Grand Prize recipient will be invited to participate in the festival and receive a custom-designed trophy.
The Winners’ Exhibition will be a highlight of the FotoDoc Festival (November 4-8, 2025) at Panamericana School of Art and Design in São Paulo, with displays open until January 10, 2026.
Explore finalists by category:
Portfolio
Carry Your Burden, Daniel Bellman – United States
I Thought the Sea Always Smelled the Same, Kazuki Takeshita – Japan
intimate metamorphosis, Carla Bernhardt – Guadelupe / France
Presságio – Fauna and Flora Are Sacred, Alma Cigana – Porto Alegre (RS)
The Great Guardians, Kity Ramos – São Paulo (SP)
Violent Removal, Nilmar Lage – Ipatinga (MG)
When the Earth Sings – Memories of Ritual and Healing, Juliana Chagas – Brasília (DF)
Wizards and Healers: BANTU Magic Across Africa, Cuba, and Maranhão, Márcio Vasconcelos – São Luis (MA)
Woven Fates, Natalija Gormalova – Ghana
Photo Essay
After the Rain, Priscila Ribeiro – Curitiba (PR)
Among Reflections: The Secrets We Conceal, Alê Bruny – Porto Alegre (RS)
City in Ashes, Nivaldo Carvalho – Garanhuns (PE)
Depth Soundings, Flavio Roitman – Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
Devotion, Alexander Decoster – São Paulo (SP)
ECO EGUM, Vinicius Xavier – Salvador (BA)
Identity, Anabel Morey – São Paulo (SP)
Journey Along the Rio Negro, Paulo Rapoport – São Paulo (SP)
Kalunga Empire, Fernão Capelo – Brasília (DF)
La Petite Mort, Charly Techio – Curitiba (PR)
Nhanderekó: The Essence of Indigenous Resistance, Douglas Protázio – Brasília (DF)
Postcard, André Nazareth – Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
Sanctuaria, Ana Palacios – Spain
Studies on Delirium, Laís Mazzucco – Florianópolis (SC)
Symbiosis, Marta Azevedo – Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
The Gaze of Farewell, Araz – Argentina
The Nest, Francisco Fresneda – Spain
To the Beings of Metamorphosis, Patrick Arley – Belo Horizonte (MG)
When Flowers Bloom, Julia Zyrina – Netherlands
Which Story We Tell, Sabrina Moura – Fortaleza (CE)
Wish it Was a Coming Out, Melissa Ianniello – Italy
Single Image
Affection and Resistance on the Esplanade, Augusto D’arte – Rio do Sul (SC)
Ancestral Future, Gabriela Fernandes – Cunha (SP)
Brazil Nut Gatherer, Dinho Rocha – Macapá (AP)
Cerrado Ablaze, Bruna Braz – Brasília (DF)
Drought in the Sertão, Noilton Pereira – Ruy Barbosa (BA)
Freedom, Dashwatar Gopalkrishna Bade – India
Gravity Suspended, Rafael Figueiredo Rosa – Porto Alegre (RS)
Human Body, Adriana Muñoz – Mexico
Infinite Mirror, Saulo Augusto Jr – São Paulo (SP)
Jaguar Soul, Rodolfo Paz – Porto Alegre (RS)
Kuikuro, Débora Ling – Curitiba (PR)
Lagnis, Javier Goded – Argentina
Leaving Mass, Pirenópolis, Matheus Bonafé – São Paulo (SP)
License to Kill, Maria Eugenia Nabuco – Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
Little Lord Hanuman, Manas Das – Índia
Masters, José Israel Abrantes – Nova Lima (MG)
Nero, Bruno Corisco – Nova Friburgo (RJ)
No Accident, Carolina Lacaz – São Paulo (SP)
No Limits, Érika Mourão – Belo Horizonte (MG)
Organic Rice Farmer, Eloi De Farias – Porto Alegre (RS)
Oxum in Lençóis Maranhenses, Fernanda Eisfeld – São Paulo (SP)
Pandemic – The Walk Home, Vania Marques – Niterói (RJ)
Pose!, Lola Silva – São Paulo (SP)
Sebastian, Martin Rojas – Argentina
The Junk Room, nilo2anjos – Olinda (PE)
The Priestess, Juliana Nonaka – Brasilia (DF)
The Sertão is as Vast as the World, Júlia Braga – Belo Horizonte (MG)
Under the Enchanted Light, Mi’saw Zàwàruhu – Recife (PE)
Unerased Reflection, Juliana Bizzo – Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
Who are we?, Irina Ebralidze – Finland
The FotoDoc Festival thanks all participants for making this third edition of the FotoDoc Photo Contest a resounding success!
Click here to view the finalists’ gallery
