The fourth edition of Photo Romania Festival has launched three photography competitions, which are now open for entries. Praised as “the most important photography festival in Eastern Europe” by The Telegraph, it has brought photography into the spotlight of Romanian culture since its inaugural year, succeeding to include Cluj-Napoca in a world-wide circuit of photography festivals. The festival has also helped to launch the first photography museum in Romania, opening in 2015. We list the competitions open for entry.

Photo Romania Award and Viral Photo of the Year
The first of these competitions is Photo Romania Award. It is open to amateur and professional photographers from around the world. Using the Photo Romania Award App, photographers can submit a photo on the Photo Romania Festival Facebook page for one of the three sections of the contest: Photojournalism, Black and White, and Journey Photography.

The deadline for this competition is 16 May, after which a judging panel chooses a winner. The prize consists of a 500 Euro voucher for an online photo equipment store. Based on the number of likes given by the public during the submitting period, Viral Photo of the Year recognises the People’s Choice Winner. The prize for this will be a 300 Euro voucher and the winner will be announced on 25 May.

Expo-Debut Competition
Romanian amateur photographers with a collection of 15 to 20 photos on a specific theme, who want to exhibit their collection during Photo Romania Festival, can register for the Expo-Debut Competition. Registration is open until 30 April on the Festival’s Facebook page. On 1 May the jury will decide the winner. The winner will exhibit their collection on 23 May, and the cost of the printing, transport, and accommodation of the winner is provided.

Head to Head
The third competition – Head to Head – is open to a limited number of Romanian amateur or professional photographers. The photographers can register for the competition until 16 May. During the festival (16 – 25 May) they will undergo three distinct competition stages.

Initially, photographers will be split into eight teams composed of two photographers each. Given two themes, each contestant will have to shoot a photo in a 12-hour timeframe. The jury will then judge all the photographs and will choose 6 participants to qualify for round two. The next stages follow the same cycle, until the winner is decided on 25 May. The prize will be a 200 Euro voucher for an online photo equipment shop.

For more information on the festival and competitions visit photoromaniafestival.ro/en and www.facebook.com/PhotoRomaniaFestival.

Credits
1. Image courtesy of Photo Romania Festival.