Bénédicte Desrus

Bénédicte Desrus is a French documentary photographer based in Marseille, France and working worldwide. After 20 years of living abroad, she returned to her home country.

She is represented by Sipa Press agency USA and has worked throughout Europe, East Africa and the Americas.

She focuses on social and human-rights issues around the world. Her long-term photo projects explore the lives of people ostracized by society, and the communities they form to survive and find respect. Recent stories explored the lives of elderly sex workers living in a shelter in Mexico City, the persecution of homosexuals in Uganda, the killing of albinos in Tanzania and the global obesity epidemic.

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Her work has appeared in: National Geographic, Netflix, Harper’s magazine, The New York Times, Time, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, World Policy Journal, The Nation, Slate, Saveur, The Toronto Star, Maclean’s, Alberta Views, The Financial Times, The Sunday Times magazine, The Guardian, The Observer, BBC, Arise, Le Monde, Libération, Revue 6Mois, Courrier International, L’Équipe, Internazionale, Néon, L’Espresso, Der Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Udvikling, Aftenposten, Jyllands Posten, Dagens Næringsliv, De Volkskrant, Globus, Gazeta Wyborcza, Esquire, Marie Claire, Grazia, Elle, Henne, Annabelle, Welt Der Frauen, La Jornada, El Universal, Soho, Chilango, Gatopardo, Revista Somos, La’Isha, The British Journal of Photography and L’oeil de la Photographie, among others. 

An archive of all publications located here: www.benedictedesrus.contently.com

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She has received commissions from a wide range of clients, such as: Adidas, NBC Universal, Ford Foundation, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Post DHL group, Airbnb, Luxury Retreats, Néstlé, GEFCO, Ipsen, Gaz de France Foundation, Capa Pictures, Reuters-East Africa, Blink, The European Commission, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNESCO, Global Fund For Women, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), WaterAid, Help Age, Tanzania Albino Society (TAS), South Sudan Microfinance Development Facility (SSMDF), Population Service International (PSI), among others. 

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Published in the book “40 ans de photo-journalisme. Génération Sipa” or 40 years of photojournalism. Generation Sipa by Michel Setboun & Sylvie Dauvillier, © 2012, Éditions de La Martinière in France.

She is the co-author of the book "Las amorosas más bravas" or Tough Love, © 2014, FONCA, Mexico. The eight-year-long project documents the day-to-day lives of the women living at Casa Xochiquetzal, a unique shelter for elderly sex workers in Mexico City.

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She has earned numerous awards and distinctions including:

2020 Addis Foto Fest (Ethiopia)

2018 Indian Photography Festival – Hyderabad (India)

2016 Pride Photo Award (The Netherlands)

2016 SoPhot Photo contest (France)

2015 Syngenta Photography Award (UK)

2014 Moscow International Photo Awards (Russia)

2013 Humanity Photo Awards (China)

2013 REVELA International Photography Award for the Social Rights Holders (Spain)

2012 Coahuila’s Contemporary Photography Contest (Mexico)

2012 New York Photo Awards (USA)

2012 International Photography Awards (USA)

2012 NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism (USA)

2012 OPEN Photo – OSISA / Open Society Foundations (South Africa)

2012 PDN Photo Annual (USA)

2012 New York Photo Festival (USA)

2012 Kuala Lumpur International Photo Awards (Malaysia)

2011 Pride Photo Award (The Netherlands)

2011 Humanity Photo Awards (China)

2011 XIV Luis Valtueña International Humanitarian Photography (Spain)

2011 Open Society Institute - Moving Walls 18 (USA)