Turkey Reacts

• Prize
• Photographer
  Nikos Pilos/ Laif and Stern Magazine, Greece
• Studio
  Nikos Pilos
• Socials
• Website
  http://www.nikospilos.com

Deniz Topaktas, is a 24-year-old translator that is taking part in the Istanbul protests
that started in May 2013. Along with her boyfriend, Erken, who's a lawyer they are the new
generation of Turks that come from low-class families, but managed to study and are now
climbing up the social ladder. Tayyip Erdogan though, the conservative Turkish PM, is
attacking their modern lifestyle, as he pushes for laws against freedom of press, public
kissing, constrain Internet access, and alcohol consumption in public.

In May and June 2013, it is estimated that 3.5 million of Turkey's 80 million people took
part in almost 5000 demonstrations across Turkey connected with the original Gezi Park
protest. Five people were killed from police's violent actions, 11 others lost their eyes
from plastic bullets, and more than 8000 were injured.

Since May 2013, Turkey has been frequently rocked by violent protests. As accusations on
corruption from Erdogan's party have increased, the dissatisfaction is increasing. The
protests have been compared to the Occupy movement and the May 1968 events and are
changing Turkey's face forever.

• Biography
  Nikos Pilos is an award-winning photojournalist and one of Europe’s noted feature photographers. He has traveled extensively to document war, natural disasters, poverty, socioeconomic struggle and cultural shifts. His work regularly appears in leading international newspapers and magazines and has been exhibited throughout Europe and U.S.Since his first assignment in Lebanon in 1988, he has covered almost all the major historical events at Balkans, Middle East, Maghreb and Eastern Europe. The last two years he is dedicated into the realization of the cross media interactive platform THE REFUGE
• Awards
  LATEST AWARDS POYi. 2020 Award of Excellence in category, Documentary News Reporting, with the short doc The Refuge. Global Migration Film Festival 2019, 3rd place at the category Shor film ,with documentary“Dying For Europe PriMed 2018 International Festival of Mediterranean Documentary and Reportage France. Public Award with the documentary Dying for Europe. World Press photo 2017. Category: short film, second place with the documentary Trapped. POYi ,2016 Category: Exodus, second place with the story The Road Of Tears. POYi, 2016 Category: Multimedia News Story, third palce with the story, Dying to enter Europe. Px3 Paris Photography 2015, Bronze metal for the story “Alevi, The Unknown People”. Fotovisura Grand 2014, Finalist for the story “Seven Years of Recession”. Px3 Paris Photography 2014, Gold medal for the story “Dying for Electricity” and Silver medal for the story “Turkey Reacts”. NPPA 2014, Honorable mention for the story “Turkey Reacts”. POYi 2014, Finalist in the World Understanding category for the story “Greece, Seven Years of Recession”. Lucie Awards, 2013, Finalist for the story “Greece, Seven Years of Recession”. PX3-Prix De la Photographie 2013, Gold medal in the Portraits category for a photograph of a member of the Golden Dawn. CHIPP - China International Press Photo Contest 2012, Award in the Economy Science & Technology category for the story “The coal mines”.