Laerke Posselt (Danish School of Journalism)
Gold | Portrait
DANISH AND IRANIAN CULTURE
The 27-year-old Iranian born actress Mellica Mehraban grew up in Denmark, but debuted as an actor in 2011 with the leading role in the Iranian spy drama 'Fox Hunting', where she played the villain. She was now challenged by a culture that is part of herself.
She had to find out how to act, that you're in love with a man, when you're not allowed to either tell him or touch him. Furthermore, the script had to be approved by the regime, and they came by during the filming and asked her to cover up her body more. She had to wear a scarf in all the scenes, and, as a woman, she was not allowed to swear on film.
Maddie McGarvey (Ohio University)
Silver | Portrait
Untitled
Sonya lays on her bed with a bag covering her head. Sonya suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after living with her mother in shambles and being abused by her mother's boyfriends. Lorrie, her grandmother, does the best she can to deal with it. "Sometimes she's just too much to handle and I get mad at her," Lorrie says. "But I can't. This isn't her fault. She didn't ask for that abuse."
Brad Vest (Ohio University)
Bronze | Portrait
Untitled
Candace Simmons, 30, a single mother of two, after a two-week meth binge. Candace's struggle with prescription opiates and methamphetamine abuse has spanned nearly a decade. “I hadn’t seen my kids in two weeks,†Candace said. “I used and the next time I thought of them I realized it had been fourteen-days.â€
Nikolai Linares (Danish School of Journalism)
Award of Excellence | Portrait
Untitled
Anne Angaard is 20 years old and is one of 43 danish women who in January 2011 went to Afghanistan as soldiers. "It's hard to know what awaits us, but I am excited to be away with my platoon. But if it worth risking my life...? I think this is an impossible calculation."
Brynn Anderson (Western Kentucky University)
Award of Excellence | Portrait
Devestation
Bobbie Jones starts to cry as she takes the first steps into her family's former rental home two days after it was destroyed by fire. Bobbie, her husband and nine of their children slept in a pair of hotel rooms for months as they searched for a new home big enough for the family.