Winner 2018

Pierre-Kastriot Jashari

Born in Bienne in 1994 to parents who are political refugees from Kosovo, Pierre-Kastriot Jashari has, from a very young age, been confronted with many identity and socio-political questions. After a standard school career, in 2014 he decided to continue his studies in photography at ECAL, which he finished in June 2018. Throughout his studies, he was interested in community issues, exploring his origins and his own identity, in a social approach to photography and moving images.

Bonu Burrë !, 2016–2018

The traditions among the Albanians are primordial and define the role of each individual according to his gender. In this predominantly Muslim culture, religion can be an excuse to widen the gap between the masculine and the feminine, and to nourish the taboo of sexuality. Bonu Burrë!, In Albanian Become a man!, Reflects the condition of LGBT Albanians in Kosovo, the majority of whom lead double lives, as well as the problems and internal conflicts they face. On the one hand, a personal documentary film, Bonu Burrë! offers an immersive journey, from secret evenings organized in closed circles to the stories of one of the most viewed online imams by Albanians. On the other, a photographic series offers portraits playing on the ambivalence between the need to assert oneself and the obligation to hide.