Because things are even more chaotic than usual, the world has never neededVisa pour l'Image more. Even more so than thirty-seven years ago, when we launched this project that no one wanted to believe in.

For a long time, the main criticism of the festival was that it was too gloomy, too violent, too pessimistic. Unfortunately, we were just a little too ahead of our time. The world is in a bad way, but now everyone is saying so. Everywhere. All the time. Journalism is on the front line of all this bad news around the planet. Some are tempted to be alarmist, to exploit tragedy, spread rumors and incite panic. Not us.

During Campo Santo screening evenings or at our exhibition venues, we will stay true to our mission:to showcase the best of photojournalism. Nuanced and verified information,sourced from the field rather than social media; images created by humans rather than generative AI.

After nearly forty years of valuable collaboration with the city of Perpignan and our other loyal partners, I am more determined than ever, alongside my team led byDelphine Lelu, to continue to nurture, develop, and promote the festival and the photographers who make it so rich. I look forward to announcing new projects in the coming months and years.

Jean-François Leroy,
April 18, 2025,
Director of Visa pour l'Image