For its 17th edition, the ZOOM Photo Festival is launching a call for submissions for photographic reportages.
This year’s theme:
PROPAGANDAS LIES AND RESISTANCES
In an era of information overload, reality paradoxically slips further and further away from us. States, political groups, corporations, digital platforms, and clandestine actors produce, shape, and disseminate narratives that mold our perception of the world, constantly blurring the line between information, propaganda, and manipulation.
In response to these dominant—often misleading or partial—discourses, forms of resistance are emerging: journalists, citizens, collectives, whistleblowers, and local communities strive to preserve spaces for nuance and contradiction.
Photojournalism, through its ability to document facts, contexts, and their tangible effects on societies, occupies a crucial place in this struggle for meaning.
This call for entries invites photojournalists to submit projects that question the construction of information, reveal the mechanisms of disinformation and propaganda, and shed light on forms — visible or subtle — of resistance to imposed narratives.
Projects may explore conflict zones as well as digital, political, social, or intimate spaces, provided they demonstrate a rigorous documentary approach, grounded in reality and respectful of journalistic ethics.
The Application File
Submissions are free of charge and open to all professional photographers from all countries, with no age limit.
Eligibility Criteria
Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Relevance of the subject (description) in relation to the theme PROPAGANDAS, LIES AND RESISTANCES;
- Visual and technical quality of the photographs;
- Narrative strength of the reportage;
- Originality and personal approach to the subject.
Application Contents
- A selection of 20 to 30 photographs (between 10 and 50 MB per photo, 300 dpi) in JPEG format;
- Each photograph must include captions in the IPTC fields;
- Photographs must be named as follows: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_PHOTO NUMBER (e.g.: TREMBLAY_JEAN_01), following the narrative order of the reportage;
- A text presenting the photographic series (maximum 500 words, WORD format, in French or English);
- A biography of the author (maximum 150 words, WORD format, in French or English);
- All the above files must be included in a folder named as follows: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_COUNTRY OF ORIGIN (of the applicant).
Submission of Applications
Participants must upload their application file to the festival’s online platform at the following address: https://www.dropbox.com/request/lCOgT0MIw0AnDEkCn1t0
The submission deadline is March 1, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. UTC/GMT-5.
Please strictly follow the guidelines regarding file size, photo captions, submission formats, and word limits for texts.
Jury
The jury is composed of:
- Olivier Laban-Mattei / Documentary photographer and filmmaker, member of the MYOP agency
- Xavier Soule / CEO, Agence VU’
- Justin Mignot / Artistic Director of the Festival
- Christiane Gagnon / Author, graduate in art history and regional studies, holder of a PhD in planning.
- Marie Borgia / Image Territories Consultant
- Valérian Mazataud / Documentary photographer based in Montreal
- Michel Tremblay / Co-founder and President of Groupe Photo Média International Inc., founder and Executive Director of the Zoom Photo Festival, photographer
Obligations
- Participants declare on their honor that they are the authors of the photographs submitted to the jury;
- They guarantee that they hold the rights to these photographs, confirm that they have obtained the consent of the photographed individuals, and release the festival from any claims by third parties;
- Authors certify that they did not use generative artificial intelligence in the production of their reportage;
- Image post-production must comply with the code of ethics of documentary photography: basic adjustments such as cropping and slight modifications to color balance and contrast are permitted. The addition or removal of elements in the image (other than through cropping) is strictly prohibited;
- Authors authorize the festival to use their name and all elements of their application for the following purposes: festival promotion and communications, exhibition of prints, and screen projections in Chicoutimi;
- For communication purposes, the festival reserves the right to extract excerpts and quotations from the submitted texts, without altering their meaning;
- Participants agree to provide three royalty-free photographs for press use in articles related to the promotional period of the Zoom Photo Festival. These three photographs will be selected by the authors.
Professional Week
Exhibited photographers are invited by the festival to attend the professional week (early October 2026). They commit to participating in the events organized during this period, including:
- The festival opening;
- A guided tour of their exhibition;
- Panel discussions and exchanges with the public;
- Meetings with the press;
- Workshops with school groups.
Coverage During the Professional Week
The festival provides the following for exhibited photographers:
- For photographers outside Quebec: airfare to Québec City Airport (YQB) or Bagotville Airport (YBG), up to a maximum of CAD 1,000 (reimbursement upon presentation of receipts);
- For Quebec-based photographers: car travel reimbursement up to CAD 200;
- Accommodation (hotel room in Chicoutimi only);
- A per diem of CAD 60 for each day present at the festival. Travel days are not included (subject to confirmation);
- Transportation between Québec City Airport and Chicoutimi (round trip), subject to festival shuttle availability;
- Local transportation within Chicoutimi, subject to festival shuttle availability.
NB
- Costs related to obtaining a visa or any other document required by the Canadian government are the responsibility of the photographer;
- Travel costs between the photographer’s place of residence and the nearest airport, both outbound and return, are the responsibility of the photographer;
- Groupe Photo Média International and the Zoom Photo Festival organization disclaim all responsibility in the event of accidents, illness of any kind, damage, theft, or other incidents occurring during air or ground travel, during the event, and throughout the entire stay in Quebec, Canada, without exception or reservation. We strongly recommend that participants obtain personal health/accident insurance or any other insurance covering these risks.
The cost of exhibition prints (maximum of 15 prints per photographer) is covered by the festival. Prints are produced according to the festival’s standards.