Bringing truth into the frame
It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words but with the rise of fake news and doctored images, it can be difficult to decipher whether what you’re seeing is real.
That conundrum is one Demi Heath is very interested in, as the director and curator of Photival, a documentary photography festival focusing on vital social, economic and environmental issues.
Heath launched the not-forprofit festival last year after relocating from the United Kingdom and seeing a gap in the local market for an event focused solely on documentary photos.
‘‘I see this type of photography as being a real focus on the world around you rather than internally looking at emotion or conceptual ideas. It’s really looking at human relationships with the planet and how we all interact with each other and the stories around us.’’
This year’s festival, which Heath describes as a ‘‘labour of love’’, features panellists Nicky Hager, Ann Shelton, Robbie Nicol, Nina Tonga and Geoffrey Batchen: a diverse group that she’s happy to have on board.
‘‘It’s been a series of quite long conversations over the past few months to get a diverse base of expertise, with a solid grounding in photography but also drawing on areas like journalism, people from NGOs, that kind of thing.’’
Unlike its inaugural outing in 2017, this year’s Photival doesn’t have an exhibition focus.
‘‘This festival has more of a documentary focus ... I think if you’re going to have a platform to show work and discuss the issues then you might as well do it for the public good.’’
Heath’s vision for the entire festival is to provide an in-depth look at the way national issues are reported through images.
‘‘It’s about looking at the role of photography in journalism and how newspapers are using photography as well as the rise of fake news and doctored images.’’ ●➤ Photival runs until April 29 in Wellington. For the full programme, see: photival.com