Documentary Projects Shortlist

After Cairo, Lima is the second city in the world to be built in a desert. In recent years, migration from rural Peru to Lima has increased significantly, but the people who manage to settle in Lima are typically very poor and their biggest problem is lack of water.

One solution that gives them hope is fog nets. Consisting of two poles that support a nylon net with small holes in it, these nets can collect about 200 litres (53 gallons) of water per day. The founder of the project is Abel Cruz, who started work on it more than 20 years ago, when he left his home region of Cusco and came to Lima to live in a settlement where water was a luxury. According to Abel, there are now about 140 fog nets installed in Lima; this project aims to show how this artisanal method could help combat water shortages.

Alessandro Cinque, born in 1988, is an Italian photojournalist based between the US and Peru focusing on environmental and socio-political issues in Latin America.
His work delves into the devastating impact of mining on Indigenous communities.
Cinque documents environmental contamination and public health concerns, capturing the pollution's effects on crops, livestock, and homes near mining sites.
His photographs have been published by international media, including from the New York Times and Reuters.
In 2022, his work adorned the National Geographic cover, and he earned the title of National Geographic Explorer.
In 2023, Cinque won the World Press Photo and the Sustainability Award at the Sony World Photography Awards, also becoming a Prix Pictet finalist.