Rencontres Photo de Tanger :
Awards
& winners since 2019
Since 2019, Face à la mer has established itself as a key platform for observing contemporary photographic practices. Through its flagship awards—the Grand Prix, the Prix Révélation, the Prix Lumière, and now the Magnum Learn Grant, the Tangier Photo Meetings do more than simply recognize accomplished images:
- it highlights unique artistic approaches and perspectives capable of questioning our relationship with the world, with places, and with human narratives.
Here are our winners since 2019.
Supporting, revealing, sustaining: the awards
Each award plays a specific role in supporting the photography sector, ensuring both financial viability and artistic guidance.
The Grand Prix (dotation: €12,000):
A mark of distinction for a mature body of work, it combines institutional recognition with a professional springboard—offering financial grants or acquisition opportunities. Depending on the edition, this is enhanced by mentorship and privileged access to professional networks to ensure the work’s long-term impact, thanks to the special support of Hans Lucas and Pixtrakk.
The Révélation Prize (dotation: €3,000):
A true scout for emerging talent, this award recognizes an initial creative spark – a fresh perspective currently taking shape. It offers the winner the critical visibility needed to enter the fine-art photography circuit, while remaining true to the values we share with the Yzza Slaoui Foundation.
MAGNUM Learn Grant (Total value: $17,450)
High-level educational support and dedicated mentorship to assist in the development and completion of a long-term documentary project. The grant (see details) covers all training fees, visa costs, travel, and accommodation.
Participants must be able to cover their own expenses for the third in-person workshop in Paris in November 2027.
The Lumière Prize (€1,000):
Focused on visual storytelling and a sensitive mastery of the medium, this prize recognizes a project where visual boldness and composition open up fresh poetic avenues. It incorporates the photographic archive of Maison Darnour—a key Tangier landmark and a loyal FALM partner.
2025
GRAND PRIX
The 2025 Grand Prix was awarded to Mona Favoreu for her series On a tué dieu au paradis (We killed God in heaven).
Prize:
– A place in the Transmission professional training program, with a total value of €6,300
– Coverage of two trips within France (for the Transmission seminar and during the professional week of the 2023 Visa pour l’Image festival), including accommodation and per diem expenses, provided by HANS LUCAS
– One year of professional mentoring by HANS LUCAS, including an online professional workspace and in-house training, valued at €1,500
– Mentoring by Lorenzo Virgili (“TAKE YOUR PHOTO COACH,” including 3 complimentary sessions)
– A one-year subscription to Pixtrakk, valued at €99
Mona Favoreu
Mona Favoreu is a photographer born in 2004 who grew up between Toulouse and her two ancestral homes: Provence and Corsica. After completing intensive preparatory classes in the humanities (Hypokhâgne and Khâgne) in Toulouse, she moved to Corsica to pursue professional training in cinema, earning a specialized bachelor’s degree in cinematography at the University of Corte.
During her undergraduate studies, at the age of 20, she directed her first short film, Les Anges, which focuses on Corsican youth. She quickly began working on film sets, taking on roles such as second assistant director, assistant electrician, and unit still photographer.
Balancing her photography work with volunteering at film festivals (such as FEMA La Rochelle and Lama), Mona presented her film at the Carthage Film Festival (JCC) in Tunis; the project also won the Cinematography Award at the Lama Festival. In November 2025, she participated in the Facing the sea Photo Festival in Tangier, where she won the Festival’s Grand Prize for a series exploring the duality between the sacred and violence in Corsica.
Her photography is primarily inspired by the great photojournalists she has admired since childhood, such as Abbas and Chauvel. She also draws influence from the cinema of the 1960s and 70s, reflecting her passion for the medium. The nostalgia and melancholy she absorbs from Corsica lend depth—and sometimes a darker edge—to the faces she captures. This island, a place of complex, dual contemporary issues set against a largely unspoiled landscape, is home to a culture defined by a multitude of perspectives.
Interview of Mona Favoreu, by Wilfrid Estève (radio RCF) :
PRIX RÉVÉLATION
The 2025 Révélation Prize is awarded to Hanane Boukili for her series Aid El-Kebir.
Prizes:
An exhibition produced and presented to the photographer at the L’œil Urbain Festival in Corbeil-Essonnes.
A professional space within the Hans Lucas and Facing the sea networks.
A subscription to Pixtrakk.
Professional mentoring by Lorenzo Virgili (Transmissions).
Hanane Boukili
Hanane Boukili is a Moroccan documentary photographer based in Fez. Her work focuses on the daily life, traditions, and social transformations of her city, paying particular attention to the gestures, trades, and people that bring the Fez medina to life.
Through a sensitive, ground-level approach, she documents the cultural practices and individual stories that contribute to collective memory. Her work explores themes such as youth, craftsmanship, and Moroccan traditions, aiming to offer a contemporary perspective on a living heritage.
Her work has been showcased at various photography events and festivals in Morocco and internationally.
PRIX LUMIÈRE
The 2025 Lumière Prize is awarded to François Silvestre for his series Merci d’être passé (Thanks for stopping by).
“LUMIÈRE” AWARD (Total prize money: €1,000)
An award recognizing technical virtuosity, sensitivity to light, and the aesthetic and visual commitment of the body of work presented.
A direct cash prize made possible by Dar Nour (Tangier) through its photography fund.
François Silvestre Desacy
Originally from Seine-Saint-Denis, François Silvestre Desacy grew up surrounded by the imagery of a father whose enthusiasm was contagious. However, he embarked on his photographic journey relatively late in life, alongside his work as a translator.
His practice—which began within his own circle before expanding into the public sphere—is rooted in a documentary approach focused on the intimate. Drawn to semi-darkness and nebulous realms, he reveals his subjects through a poetic, timeless, and unsettled lens. Through his wanderings, connections, and encounters, he explores ambiguous zones, the invisible, and the mysterious. In a quest to uncover the hidden, conflicted, or vanished self—and the underlying, winding paths that intertwine with his own—he invites the viewer to both question and escape.
François is a member of the Collectif DR and is based in Marseille. His work has been exhibited at various festivals (including Zoom Photo Festival Saguenay, Les Nuits photographiques de Pierrevert, BarrObjectif, Les Nuits Photo, Présence(s) photographie, Head On Photo Festival, and Les Chemins de photo).
2024
GRAND PRIX
The 2024 Grand Prix was awarded this year to Mouad Zerhouni for his series In search of Hymenaeus.
Prize:
– A place in the Transmission professional training program, with a total value of €6,300
– Coverage of two trips within France (for the Transmission seminar and during the professional week of the 2023 Visa pour l’Image festival), including accommodation and per diem expenses, provided by HANS LUCAS
– One year of professional mentoring by HANS LUCAS, including an online professional workspace and in-house training, valued at €1,500
– Mentoring by Lorenzo Virgili (“TAKE YOUR PHOTO COACH,” including 3 complimentary sessions)
– A one-year subscription to Pixtrakk, valued at €99
Mouad Zerhouni
Born in 2002, Mouad Zerhouni is a documentary photographer based in Témara, originally from Oued Amlil, a small town in Morocco.
He is drawn to stories concerning identity, memory, and social change, with a growing interest in exploring how people navigate faith, migration, and belonging.
Through long-term projects, he aims to document personal and collective narratives, capturing everyday realities that often go unnoticed.
PRIX RÉVÉLATION
The 2024 Révélation Prize has been awarded to Charaf Lahib.
Prizes:
An exhibition produced and presented to the photographer at the L’œil Urbain Festival in Corbeil-Essonnes.
A professional space within the Hans Lucas and Facing the sea networks.
A subscription to Pixtrakk.
Professional mentoring by Lorenzo Virgili (Transmissions).
Charaf Lahib
Charaf Lahib is a documentary photographer based between Casablanca and Kelaa des Sraghna, Morocco. His work explores life in his hometown and the surrounding villages.
Hailing from the region, his work represents a true return to his roots.
Charaf documents people’s lives, memory, traditions, and their connection to the land, through a lens that examines both the visible reality and the unseen.
Charaf is a published photographer; his project “Red Poppy” was published by Zoopark Publishing in Berlin.
His work has earned him recognition through several awards, including the National Visual Arts Competition in 2025.
PRIX LUMIÈRE
The 2024 Lumière Prize was awarded to Laurent Demartini for his series A Parisian Journey with Joshua Coombes (A Parisian Journey with Joshua Coombes).
“LUMIÈRE” AWARD (Total prize money: €1,000)
An award recognizing the technical virtuosity, sensitivity to light, and aesthetic and visual commitment of the body of work presented.
A direct cash prize made possible by Dar Nour (Tangier) through its photography fund.
Laurent Demartini
Originally from Corsica, Laurent Demartini lives and works in Paris.
Self-taught, his earliest passions were writing, followed by music and photography.
“I began capturing fragments of my daily life—my private world—during adolescence as a kind of existential quest, a visual record of my life and that of my loved ones. It is an ongoing series that has accompanied me every step of the way since then. In the spaces between, the streets of Paris and beyond gradually became the playground for my inner projections—as well as for political and social reflection—and for a unique perspective on the world, people, and their environments. Photography and writing serve this intimate narrative. Always on the lookout, I seek a breath, a touch of poetry, the moment that captivates and moves me—the moment that gives substance to this internal story.“
Laurent has been a member of Hans Lucas since February 2024.
He was a standout favorite of the National Association of Iconographers (ANI) during the portfolio reviews at Visa pour l’Image in 2024.
Entretien avec Laurent Demartini, réalisé par Wilfrid Estève (radio RCF) :
2023
GRAND PRIX
The 2023 Grand Prix was awarded to Abderrahmane Ajja for his series Un voyage dans la nature où le temps s’arrête pour jouer (A Journey into Nature Where Time Stands Still to Play).
Prize:
– A place in the Transmission professional training program, with a total value of €6,300
– Coverage of two trips within France (for the Transmission seminar and during the professional week of the 2023 Visa pour l’Image festival), including accommodation and per diem expenses, provided by HANS LUCAS
– One year of professional support from HANS LUCAS, including an online professional workspace and in-house training, valued at €1,500
– Mentoring by Lorenzo Virgili (“TAKE YOUR PHOTO COACH”—3 complimentary sessions)
– A one-year subscription to Pixtrakk, valued at €99
Abderrahmane Ajja
A 24-year-old photographer and filmmaker, Abderrahmane Ajja graduated in 2023 with a degree in cinematography from ESAV Marrakech, where he honed his skills in filmmaking, photography, and visual storytelling.
Passionate about the power of visual storytelling and its social impact, he explores urban and cultural dynamics through his work.
In 2023, he won the Tangier Photo Meetings Grand Prix, an achievement that gave him the opportunity to participate in the “Transmission” photojournalism training program in France. This experience allowed him to refine his documentary eye and strengthen his ability to tell stories rooted in reality. He has also participated in a group exhibition at the Visa pour l’Image festival.
Since February 2024, Abderrahmane has been a member of the Hans Lucas agency, collaborating with media outlets and institutions while further developing his unique photographic identity.
His approach is defined by a polished aesthetic and meticulous attention to detail; he seeks to capture the memory of places and people while highlighting social transformations and intimate narratives.
PRIX RÉVÉLATION
The 2023 Révélation Prize was awarded to Rime Sabbar for her series red and green.
Prize:
An exhibition produced and presented to the author at the L’œil Urbain Festival in Corbeil-Essonne.
A professional space within the Hans Lucas and Facing the sea networks.
A subscription to Pixtrakk.
Professional mentoring by Lorenzo Virgili (Transmissions).
Rime Sabbar
Rime Sabbar is a self-taught documentary photographer and visual storyteller based in Tangier, Morocco.
Her work focuses on exploring human emotions, identity, and social struggles, while also highlighting the environmental issues we face.
Exposed to the arts from a young age, she initially turned to writing to express herself and make sense of the world around her. Discovering photography marked a pivotal moment in the evolution of her artistic expression. Gradually, she came to realize “that writing could never surpass the power of a simple photograph.”
For her, photography is a way to capture what cannot be put into words. Thus, beyond the undeniable documentary nature of her images, her work serves as an underlying attempt to preserve the present moment against the relentless passage of time and the fading of our memories.
2022
GRAND PRIX
The 2022 Grand Prix was awarded to Imane Zaoin for her series Aita.
Prizes:
– €3,000 in prize money provided by NFiniti and FYS
– A place in the Transmission by Hans Lucas professional training program (commercial value of €4,000)
– A professional profile within the Hans Lucas and Facing the sea networks
– A subscription to Pixtrakk
Imane Zaoin
Iman Zaoin was born in 1996 in Assisi, Italy. She is a Moroccan-Italian photographer based in Morocco.
In 2021, she completed her Master’s degree in Intercultural Mediation and Development Cooperation. During her academic studies, she focused on contemporary Arab societies, aiming to better understand her own personal history and origins.
Photography—a passion she has pursued since her teenage years—became a tool for understanding reality and for self-discovery.
Her work addresses themes such as memory and migration, with a particular focus on the lived experiences of marginalized individuals.
Her debut photographic series, “Lucioles” (Fireflies), is a personal exploration retracing her childhood memories in Morocco.
PRIX RÉVÉLATION
The 2022 Révélation Prize was awarded to Yassine Sellame.
Prize:
– €850 artist fee
– An exhibition produced by the L’œil Urbain Festival, with the prints becoming the property of the artist
– Professional access within the Hans Lucas and Facing the Sea networks
– A subscription to Pixtrakk
– One year of professional mentoring by Lorenzo Virgili (Transmission)
Yassine Sellame
Yassine Sellame is a photographer originally from Marrakech. He began shooting on film in 2015. In 2016, he purchased his own C-41 chemicals and began experimenting with the developing process.
Yassine is also an avid skateboarder—a pursuit he has enjoyed for years alongside photography. The two disciplines coexist and fuel his creativity.
He held his first exhibition at Arabfest (in Pilsen, Czech Republic) and later exhibited at the Transforma festival in 2018. His photos have since appeared in various magazines, including Crook Skate Mag, GQ Middle East Magazine, and Vice Arabia. His work was also showcased at the venue of renowned artist and Moroccan pop art pioneer Hassan Hajjaj during the 2019 Marrakech Art Fair.
Yassine has exhibited his work in France at the L’œil Urbain photography festival in Corbeil-Essonnes.
2021
GRAND PRIX
The 2021 Grand Prix was awarded to Amine Houari for his series Territoires (Territoires).
Prize:
A €4,000 grant from the Alliances foundation and Pixtrakk.
Professional placement within the Hans Lucas and Facing the sea networks.
A subscription to Pixtrakk.
Professional mentoring by Lorenzo Virgili (Transmissions).
Amine Houari
Amine Houari has a deep passion for photography.
Born in Fez in 2000, Amine Houari draws his inspiration and fuels his imagination from Morocco.
Drawn to themes of territoriality, he enjoys exploring the identity of both place and person, as well as the intriguing relationship humans forge with their surroundings and environment.
In 2019, his work was showcased at the Inaugural Exhibition of the National Museum of Photography in Rabat (Morocco) and at the 2nd edition of the Africa Photo Festival of New York.
In 2020, he was awarded the ContemporARTE Prize by the University of Huelva (Spain) for his photo series titled “En el Mar“.
Committed to the cause, he co-founded the Noorseen collective in 2020, which aims to propel young Moroccan photographers onto the international stage.
PRIX RÉVÉLATION
The 2021 Révélation Prize was awarded to Yzza Slaoui for her series Sincerely, Tendrara.
It was while working on her project Sincerely, Tendrara that Yzza Slaoui passed away on November 28, 2021, in a road accident in the Figuig province of northeastern Morocco.
This award was presented to her family posthumously.
Yzza Slaoui
Yzza Slaoui is a young Moroccan photojournalist whose work lies at the intersection of journalism, photography, and human development. Her primary areas of interest are climate change, conflict situations, and the status of women.
Through her work, Yzza Slaoui reveals the various facets of the human condition in the early 21st century, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable forms of life. This focus is driven by her conviction that, through the photographic storytelling of these precarious lives, we can make clearly visible what would otherwise remain vague and abstract.
Yzza Slaoui’s work invites us to understand life in its two inextricable dimensions: on the one hand, biological or physical life—the existence of bodies interacting with the natural environment—and on the other, life as a biographical and sociological existence, granting every individual or group the capacity to remember and construct their own story.
Yzza Slaoui is a graduate of the University of Warwick and the University of Cambridge, and holds a master’s degree in Ethnography and Documentary Filmmaking from University College London.
She is a member of Women Photograph and Native Agency. Her work has been featured in several international exhibitions around the world, notably at the MACAAL Museum in Marrakech, the Zingst Photography Festival in Germany, the MAP Festival in Toulouse—where she received the Prix Révélation In Memoriam Award—and the Photography 4 Humanity exhibition at the UN headquarters in New York. Yzza Slaoui has also worked with several international agencies, such as Vice, Azeema, and Good Broadcast.
2020
No Grand Prix due to the COVID crisis
(only the Revelation Prize is awarded)
PRIX RÉVÉLATION
The 2020 Révélation Prize was awarded to Giulia Frigieri for her series Surfing Iran.
Prize:
A €1,000 grant from the MAP Festival in Toulouse.
An exhibition produced and gifted to the artist.
Professional exposure within the Hans Lucas and Facing the sea networks.
A subscription to Pixtrakk.
Professional mentoring by Lorenzo Virgili (Transmissions).
Giulia Frigieri
Giulia Fugieri is an Italian photojournalist and documentary photographer focusing on themes such as youth, identity, and the representation of women in the MENA region and the Mediterranean.
Giulia moved to London at the age of 19, where she lived for over six years, graduating with a degree in Anthropology and Media from Goldsmiths University in 2013. Her passion for portraiture and storytelling flourished alongside her anthropology studies, and after several years in London, she moved to Morocco in 2015. In 2016, she studied storytelling and photojournalism at the Danish School of Media and Journalism in Aarhus, Denmark.
Her work aims to explore visual narratives of Arab communities (both in the MENA region and in Europe) and Mediterranean youth that challenge stereotypes and misconceptions. It highlights stories of courage and empowerment across various fields, ranging from documentary to fashion photography.
2019
GRAND PRIX
The 2019 Grand Prix was awarded to Seif Kousmate for his series À 6 mètre au pays des rêves (At 6 Meters in the Land of Dreams).
The prize package for the Tangier Photo Meetings Award includes:
– A 10-day training course in Paris at the prestigious CFPJ journalism school: https://www.cfpj.com/
– Member access and professional mentoring provided by Hans Lucas and Hans Lucas Méditerranée for one year: http://hanslucas.com/
– Participation—including a talk and a screening—at Photo Doc. 2019 in Paris: https://photodocparis.com/
– An exhibition at the Les Insolites bookstore-gallery in Tangier: https://www.facebook.com/Lesinsolitestanger/
– An exhibition during the In Cadaqués festival in September 2019
– A $2,000 cash prize from the Alliances Foundation. Given the quality of the bodies of work and series presented, the jury members decided to award special mentions to M’hammed Kilito, Youcef Krache, Fethi Sahraoui, Yoriyas, as well as to Collective 220.
Seif Kousmate
Seif Kousmate is a visual artist born in Essaouira and based in Tangier, Morocco. In 2014, at the age of 26, he left his career as a civil engineer and bought his first camera.
A self-taught artist, he began his photographic journey by exploring documentary photography. His lens focused on capturing the various manifestations of marginalization across Africa.
His early projects provided a platform for the stories of Rwandan youth in the post-genocide era, formerly enslaved people in Mauritania (the Haratins), and sub-Saharan migrants seeking a better life in Europe.
In Morocco, Seif’s work has centered on the Boujloud celebrations and documented life in the Atlas Mountains in the face of climate change. He is currently working on his series “Waha” and his first monograph—a four-year project dedicated to oases and the transformations they are undergoing.
Seif’s artistic practice has evolved over the past decade, now blending contemporary art with photography. His upcoming project explores masculinity and fatherhood, pushing the boundaries of photography to incorporate installation and video art.
He co-founded the KOZ collective in 2020.
PRIX RÉVÉLATION
The 2019 Révélation Prize was awarded to Céline Croze for her series SQEVNV.
Prize:
A €1,000 grant from the MAP Festival in Toulouse.
An exhibition produced and gifted to the photographer.
Professional exposure within the Hans Lucas and Facing the Sea networks.
A subscription to Pixtrakk.
Professional mentoring by Lorenzo Virgili (Transmissions).
Céline Croze
Céline Croze is a visual artist born in Morocco and based in Paris.
Attuned to the fractures running through our society, she employs cinematic codes to transgress the world around her and slip into the fissures of the people she observes. Hovering between documentary and dreamscape, she weaves a painterly aesthetic composed of texture, repetition, and the remnants of stories.
There is a form of poetic wandering here: a connection between places heavy with history and wounded souls, between the intimate and the universal.