ImageSingulieres Documentary festival of Photography, is a very promising new comer on the map of Photo Festivals in France. ImageSingulières is held in Sète, a fishing town on the Mediterrannea, thanks to photographer Gilles Favier, founder and artistic director of the Festiva. Photography was on display in galleries and museums around town, and as well as on screen in a old wine storehouse each evening, where local oysters was abundant and so delicious !

Attending the Festival opening week-end on the first days of May, I had a good time with a bunch of photographers : Rena Effendi (Azerbaïdjian), Jens Olof Lasthein (Sweden), Sohrab Hura (India), Kosuke Okahara (Japan) , Ali Taptik (Turkey)….

I was delighted to visit their exhibtions, especially “House of Happiness” by Rena Effendi. ,. Her work documents family and cultural rituals in the traditional society of the Ferghana Valley in Ouzbekistan, through vibrant portraits of women.

© Rena Effendi - Gula, a 22 year old Uzbek woman left her husband because he took a second wife. She now sells icecream in a park. Osh. Kyrgyzstan. September, 2007

One of my favorite exhibition during ImageSingulieres , “White Sea Black Sea,” a powerful series of panoramic photographs by Jens Olof Lasthein is a visual journey along Europe’s eastern borders. His book White Sea Black Sea (2008 - Dewi Lewis Publishing ) is definitively a must-have !

Update : Congrats to Kosuke and Sorhab who have been selected to participate in Joop Swart Masterclass 2009