HABIBI
Habibi is the chronicle of a love story set in one of the longest and most complicated contemporary conflicts, the Israeli-Palestinian war.
The Palestinian prisoners’ wives have turned to sperm’s smuggling in order to conceive children from their husbands who are serving long-term sentences in Israeli jails. Around 7,000 Palestinians are detained, with nearly 1,000 facing sentences of 20 years or more.
In the last 7 years, according to the Razan Hospital in Nablus which provides in vitro fertilization treatments in West Bank, around 100 babies have been born. These treatments are offered free of charge to these women because their husbands are considered by the collectivity as living martyrs who have renounced their freedom for the homeland.
Conjugal visits are denied and Palestinian prisoners can see their immediate family members through a glass window. Physical contact is forbidden, except for prisoners’ children who are less than 6 years of age, who are allowed 10 minutes at the end of each visit to embrace their fathers. With the excuse of giving gifts to their children, the prisoners put their sperm into empty pen tubes and hide them inside chocolate bars. This is the most common method among prisoners and the only hope for their wives to have new children and raise a family.
The lives of these women are suspended in an eternal wait for the return of their loved ones. Furthermore, they do in vitro fertilization also in order not to surrender to the condition of imprisonment of their husbands and courageously facing the difficulties of daily life by raising their children alone in a war zone.
This area too often is shown only as a place of war and conflict, full of contrast, soldiers, military actions and weapons. Habibi, in Arabic means "my love”, tries to show the impact of the conflict on Palestinian families analyzing the difficulties faced in preserving their human dignity and trying to understand the reality hidden behind the war.
HABIBI WON 2021 WORLD PRESS PHOTO STORY OF THE YEAR AND 1ST PRIZE IN LONG-TERM PROJECTS CATEGORY
Antonio Faccilongo, 2021 World Press Photo Story of the Year winner and 1st prize winner in the Long-term Projects category, shares the background to his award-winning story 'Habibi'.
NEWS
HABIBI WON 2020 FOTOEVIDENCE BOOK AWARD WITH WORLD PRESS PHOTO
HABIBI is the receipient of the 2020 FotoEvidence Book Award with World Press Photo. The book award is given each year to a photographer whose work demonstrates courage and commitment in the pursuit of human rights. The project was selected by international jury and published as a book by FotoEvidence.
The book HABIBI is printed in a limited edition of 500 copies. Laser-cut cardboard cover, it measures 17x 23 cm. and contains 58 color photographs, four inserts with images of prisoners taken of from a CCTV video and a personal narrative by the photographer. The book is enhanced with the poetry of Taha Muhammad Ali. Photos Antonio Faccilongo, photo editor Sarah Leen, book design Ramon Pez, introduction Dr. Paridah Abd Samad, text editor David Stuart, post production Daniele Zedda and poem “Revenge” by Taha Mohammad Ali.
Published in 2020 by FotoEvidence.
ISBN: 978-1732471160
TALKING ABOUT HABIBI WITH FUJIFILM
TEARSHEETS
HABIBI AWARDS
World Press Photo Story of the Year 2021
1st prize in Long-Term Projects category at World Press Photo 2021
National Geographic Society's Covid-19 Emergency Fund 2021
Shortlisted in environment category at Sony Photography Awards 2021
World Press Photo 2021 nominee in long-term category
Winner at Feature Shoot 2021
Winner at Fotoevidence Book Award with World Press Photo 2020
Winner at PDN Photo Annual Awards 2020 in the category photojournalism
Shortlisted at Alexia Foundation award 2020
1st prize POYi Pictures of the year in World Understand Award category 2019
Finalist Lucas Dolega award 2019
Shortlisted at Alexia Foundation award 2019
Getty editorial grant 2017
2nd prize PHMuseum Grant 2017
Finalist Visa D'or Feature 2017
Finalist LensCulture Magnum Awards 2017
Best Color Documentary work Gomma Grant 2016
1st prize LuganoPhotoDays 2016
1st prize Umbria World Fest 2016
3rd prize Px3 Prix de la Photographie in Feature Category 2016
Finalist LensCulture Portrait Awards 2016
Finalist Fotoleggendo Premio Tabò 2016
HABIBI EXHIBITIONS
2021 World Press Photo festival (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
2021 IMP International Month of Photojournalism (Padua, Italy)
2021 Exposure Photography Festival (Calgary, Canada)
2020 World Press Photo festival (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
2020 Indian Photo Festival (Hyderabad, India)
2020 Festival della fotografia etica (Lodi, Italy)
2019 Zoom Photo Festival (Canada, Quebec)
2017 Visa pour l'image - Screening (France, Perpignan)
2017 Voies Off - Les Rencontres de la photographie (France, Arles)
2017 #WomenMatter global campaign on women by Disturb
2017 Umbria World Fest (Italy, Foligno)
2017 Cortona on the move - Screening (Italy, Cortona)
2017 Denver Month of Photography (Usa, Denver)
2017 Festival de Tiradentes (Brazil, Tiradentes)
2017 Focus Photography Festival (India, Mumbai)
2017 FORMAT International Photography Festival (Uk, Derby)
2017 Odessa Photo Days Festival 2017 (Usa, Denver)
2017 Los Angeles Festival of Photography (Usa, Los Angeles)
2017 Belfast Photo Festival (Wales, Belfast)
2017 Copenhagen Photo Festival (Denmark, Copenhagen)
2017 ViennaPhotoBookFestival (Austria, Vienna)
2017 StreetFoto San Francisco (Usa, San Francisco)
2016 LuganoPhotoDays (Switzerland, Lugano)
2016 Tbilisi Photo Festival (Georgia, Tbilisi)
2016 Organ Vida (Croatia, Zagreb)