ICONIC IMAGE 2025

THE NECESSARY IMAGE

The Festival of Ethical Photography has long been a space where images are given the attention and depth they deserve to be understood. They are not just photographs, but stories and testimonies that call for a slower gaze—free from the hurried, superficial way we so often consume images in our daily lives.

The image for this year’s annual edition comes from Gaza. It was chosen because it conveys with unmistakable force a pain that cannot be overlooked. It is a harsh photograph, one that tells of shattered lives, devastation, and communities ripped apart. Looking at it means refusing to look away, while accepting the responsibility of acknowledging what is unfolding—even when the weight of reality is hard to bear.

We felt it was important to acknowledge this ourselves first, before sharing it with you, so that it could become part of the collective experience of our community.

We chose this photograph to represent the Festival this year because there’s no other place where such vital images can be received and given meaning. At the Festival, the audience meets the photographers, engages in dialogue and reflection, and through books and shared experiences, finds ways to give voice to all that the image holds within it.

The moment we saw it, we felt its urgency immediately: too strong to be ignored, too clear to be hidden.

This is not a political stance, but an act of humanity. Every war, whatever its nature, demands at least a minimum respect for life, and this photograph, in all its rawness, brings us back to a time when international law seems emptied and trampled upon. The Festival reaffirms the need not to let memory fade and to renew our commitment to human values.

Visual language holds a power that transcends borders and cultures: it questions anyone who looks at it, without mediation. It is an invitation not to escape from collective responsibility, but to transform it into awareness and active participation.

Those who have followed us for a long time know that we have never shown graphic images of suffering without context. They are familiar with our approach: not by shouting, but by informing and encouraging reflection, allowing emotion to emerge with quiet intensity.

This year, however, it became unavoidable to show pain in a direct way, with its causes and its wounds.

We felt the urgency to do so because, in this historical moment, it is a necessary choice.

The Artistic Direction