Antonis Pasvantis, winner of the Athens Photo World 2023 photojournalism award

Photojournalism Award

Athens Photo World 2023

Antonis Pasvantis is based in Kavala, northern Greece. He studied Electrical Engineering & Electronics at Brunel University in West London and Photojournalism at Leica Akademie of Athens. During his studies in photography he focused his work on the life of migrants from west Africa who sold illegal fakes of expensive brands in Athens. Part of this work has been exhibited in the Young Greek Photographers section of Athens Photo Festival 2006. His work has also been exhibited in the Museum of Photography in Thessaloniki as well as the Odessa/Batumi Photo Days Festival. He followed the refugee crisis from 2015 to 2017 and part of his project about Idomeni has been displayed at the Museum of Photography of Thessaloniki, in the European Parliament and the Adelaide Photo Festival. Since 2017 he has documented the impact the Greek -Turkish border is having on people. His story Sombre Caste investigates the rise of a new dark class in the aftermath of the 10-year Greek financial crisis and he was among the finalists of Athens Photo World Award contest in 2020, being granted the opportunity to work with a mission of the Greek branch of Medecens sans Frontieres

The Last Community

In 1910, nearly 90% of the Muslim population in Thrace identified as Alevis or Behtashis. The Treaty of Lausanne, signed between Greece and Turkey, subsequently labeled these individuals as a Muslim minority.
During the Cold War, a segment of this minority, residing in the Rodopi Mountains near the Bulgarian border, found themselves isolated by internal barriers. To interact with them, special permission was required. Over the years, Sunni Islam gained prominence over other sects.

THE LAST COMMUNITY explores the lives and uncertain future of the remaining 4,000 Greek Alevis/Behtashis in the Evros region, probing into their societal concerns through visual examinations and fieldwork interviews.