Champions’ league

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2017 – First Prize Winner

César Dezfuli

Amadou Sumaila (from the series Passengers)

On 1 August 2016, over 100 people were rescued from the Mediterranean Sea, 20 nautical miles from the Libyan coast. On board the rescue vessel, photojournalist César Dezfuli was documenting the plight of migrants. The portrait shows Amadou Sumaila, a 16-year-old boy from Mali, who was later transferred to a reception centre in Italy. ‘I think Amadou's portrait stands out because of the emotions it transmits,' says Dezfuli. ‘He had just been rescued by a European vessel, apparently fulfilling