Why we chose the nominees — An interview with Muyi Xiao
The chair of the 2021 World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest jury talks about this year’s nominees
2020 was a unique year in many ways. Facing the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, in addition to other acute issues, united us all. The power of digital storytelling to deliver stories from afar has thus been more important than ever. It has enabled us to empathize and feel more connected than ever.
“As we viewed productions from 2020, the most prevalent theme was, unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains the dominant global story since the initial outbreak at the beginning of last year and still is impacting so many of us, no matter where we are. It is unprecedented, and it requires such strength and courage for journalists around the world to document it. Even those covering the stories that were not about the pandemic still faced significant health risks to doing their work. I have incredible respect for them,” says Muyi Xiao, video producer, The New York Times Visual Investigations team, and the chair of the 2021 Digital Storytelling Contest jury.
Muyi Xiao is a reporter and video producer in The New York Times Visual Investigations team. As the nominees for the 2021 World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest are announced on 10 March, we catch up with Muyi Xiao, who told us what stood out from each of the productions selected across all three categories: Interactive, Short, and Long.
Interactive
An interactive visual story or project in a form other than video, which through its design creates an immersive and/or innovative experience for the user.
Birth in the 21st Century
Barret Cooperativa/Lab RTVE/À Punt Mèdia
Birth in the 21st Century is an interactive documentary that follows the stories of five women during their pregnancy and childbirth, before and during the coronavirus pandemic. The experience invites the viewer inside the delivery room of the Hospital Universitario de La Plana, in Villarreal, Spain, where a team of midwives specialized in humanizing birth support women through childbirth in a way that is designed and developed with a deep respect for their bodies, their babies, and their rights.
“This project is informative and helps women get mentally prepared for the oft-overwhelming process of giving birth, especially during the pandemic. The quality that stood out the most is that the project knows exactly what women need and want to know about birth, and it provides the info using compelling characters, rich data, and knowledgeable experts. It is an excellent piece of service journalism.”
Ukraine: Grey Zone
Benas Gerdziunas/Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT)
Ukraine: Grey Zone is an immersive three-part interactive story that gives the account of a cluster of mining communities divided by war in eastern Ukraine. Many locals back the Russian-led separatists, whilst others fight for Ukraine on the frontlines. As soldiers share houses with local families, whose children attend schools just meters from the trenches, the distinction between civilians and the military fades. With the war entering its seventh year, some children have spent their entire lives under shelling. Through a combination of audio and visual elements, Ukraine: Grey Zone explores the lives of those who live, those who fight, and those who fought, in the so-called Grey Zone.
“This project provides an immersive experience through excellent graphic and sound design, as well as rich, comprehensive information. Through an intimate lens, it helps us understand how people from different backgrounds in the grey zone are impacted by the conflict.”
Reconstructing Seven Days of Protests in Minneapolis After George Floyd’s Death
Holly Bailey/The Washington Post and Matt Daniels, Amelia Wattenberger/The Pudding
Reconstructing Seven Days of Protests in Minneapolis After George Floyd’s Death provides a full picture of the first week of protests in Minneapolis after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. An unprecedented use of user-generated content, which combines and maps out 147 live stream videos, Reconstructing Seven Days of Protests in Minneapolis After George Floyd’s Death presents a thorough overview of the protests, and acts as an archive of a time of international reckoning on issues of race, police brutality and social justice.
“It shows that the situation was more complicated and nuanced than people initially understood. What stands out the most is how they utilize user generated content to provide accountability. The approach is innovative. World Press Photo historically celebrates image-makers, but this is something different, and we are seeing it because the way we consume stories is rapidly changing.
On the content side, because the protests were very chaotic, and for someone who didn’t follow them closely, it is very easy to get lost in or misled by the ocean of information online. This project not only provides immediate clarity, but also serves as an historical archive. People can always come back to the project and relive those seven days.”
Long
A single linear narrative, or series of linear narratives, on a single topic, produced as a video for the web, and lasting no longer than 30 minutes in total.
Blood Rider
Jon Kasbe/The New Yorker
A blood-shortage crisis and standstill traffic most hours of the day in Nigeria means that it can take over 24 hours to transport blood to patients in critical need. Joseph, one of the city’s motorcycle ‘blood riders’ can deliver blood to hospitals in under an hour. For mothers in labor, like Deborah, this is often the difference between life and death.
“The piece touches on the health service infrastructure issue in Nigeria through a very compelling story. My heart raced while I watched the blood delivery man riding in traffic, trying to save a woman whose life hangs by a thread as she delivers her child. And the video not only draws the audience deeply into the story, it also makes them ask hard questions about larger issues in the country.
The production quality is stunning. The cinematography, sound, editing…everything about it is impressive. Also, the commitment by the filmmakers really stood out. They followed several blood delivery men and pregnant women to find the two whose paths eventually crossed.”
To Calm the Pig Inside (Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos)
Old Fool Films
To Calm the Pig Inside is a contemplation on the effects a typhoon leaves on a seaside city. Myths are woven in to try to understand how people cope with the devastation and trauma. A girl divulges fragments of her own memory of her grandmother and mother to tie in the experiences she felt visiting this ravaged port city. A patient and poetic film, To Calm the Pig Inside gives insight into the aftermaths of extreme weather events.
“Many aspects of this video are unconventional, from the narrative of the voiceover, to the imagery and editing. With a less newsy and more artistic approach, the piece peers through the surface of a natural disaster and opens up a conversation toward something more philosophical.”
One other production was withdrawn.
Short
A single linear narrative, produced as a video for the web, lasting no longer than 10 minutes.
A Racist Attack Was Caught on Camera. Nearly 45 Years Later, It Still Stings
The New York Times
In 2019, a video clip from the 1970s of a racist attack by white children on a group of black children in New York City surfaced online. The witnesses, victims, and perpetrators were later found and interviewed–gathering many painful first-hand accounts. The resulting video is an examination of the legacy of racism in a city that prides itself on inclusivity. In a year in which the US was forced to reckon with racial inequality, this short film highlights the important historical context for this moment in time.
“The usage of old footage here is really compelling. When we watch how these people still feel so strongly about the racist attack they survived 45 years ago, we understand how traumatic racist attacks are. It also shows the team’s commitment to doing the work of finding the people in the original video.”
Good Morning, My Wife in Heaven (天堂里的邓顺芝，早上好 )
Yingfei Liang/Shumin Wei/Caixin
Good Morning, My Wife in Heaven follows the personal story of Lao Hei, a Wuhan local, as he mourns the loss of his wife of 42 years, who passed away after contracting COVID-19. Through more than 200 personal letters written by the widower to his wife, Good Morning, My Wife in Heaven narrates moments of fear and grief experienced by Lao Hei, and many others, during the initial outbreak of the pandemic.
“Disasters are oftentimes represented in numbers. However, there is a deeply touching story behind each number. This production is exactly about that.
What stood out the most was the seamlessness of the video’s production. The editing is not heavy handed and the cinematography is minimal and elegant. I think it makes so much sense for this story, because the emotion delivered from the letters is so raw and intense, and the production gives the audience enough space to be fully immersed without any distractions.”
The Eternity of Tomorrow
Cristóbal Olivares/Magnum Foundation
For almost a century, the Mapuche — the largest indigenous group in Chile — have claimed their right to recover their ancestral lands, which have been severely impacted by state business and continuing deforestation. In response to the Mapuche’s reclamation attempts, the Chilean government criminalized collective action, and have militarized these ancestral territories, resulting in increasingly violent clashes. The Eternity of Tomorrow illustrates the acute violence against the Mapuche, and its serious and specific consequences on children and teenagers.
“The use of a combination of photos, videos and animated drawing in this video is very creative. The subject matter is also important, and it hasn’t been talked about enough. The way it tells the story primarily through the perspective of a child helps the audience understand the Mapuche conflict in a more digestible way.”
You can see all the 2021 Photo Contest and the 2021 Digital Storytelling Contest nominees at worldpressphoto.org/contest/2021.
The Digital Storytelling Contest, open to short documentary film and interactive productions, recognizes and rewards forms of visual storytelling enabled by digital technologies.
All the interactive productions are nominated for World Press Photo Interactive of the Year, and all the productions in the Short and Long categories are nominated for the World Press Photo Online Video of the Year.
The winners will be announced on 15 April during an award ceremony as part of the World Press Photo Festival 2021.
