1st place
gold star award
Snezhana von Buedingen
germany 
title
Meeting Sofie
Sofie continues to live on the farm estate with her parents, her brother and the countless animals.
The series gives the viewer a glimpse into the Sofie's life, in the fascinating „Sofies world“ and her sensitive nature.
Von Buedingen, born in 1983 in Perm, Russia, studied Journalism at the University in Osnabrueck and Photography at the Fotoakademie Cologne. The exploration of people, culture, and life are the central facets of her work. She always chooses to shoot with analogue film on her projects.
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entry description
I got to know Sofie, 19 jars old girl with Down Syndrom, in the autumn of 2017. She’d just finished school and spent almost every day on the family estate in Eilensted (Germany). Visiting Sofie and her family for over a year, I experienced their everyday lives; sharing at that time the highs and lows of her first steps into love. Sofie feels the same things as we do, but, I find, sometimes more intensely. I’ve seen her happy as well as terribly sad. The feelings of the people she is close to and loves are important to her, as is how they relate to her. But she also finds joy in simple things and is free from social pressure. She doesn’t seem to think at all about what others think of her. She is able to separate herself from the day-to- day.Sofie continues to live on the farm estate with her parents, her brother and the countless animals.
The series gives the viewer a glimpse into the Sofie's life, in the fascinating „Sofies world“ and her sensitive nature.
about the photographer
Snezhana von Büdingen is a Cologne-based photographer. Renowned for her portraiture and social documentary artwork.Von Buedingen, born in 1983 in Perm, Russia, studied Journalism at the University in Osnabrueck and Photography at the Fotoakademie Cologne. The exploration of people, culture, and life are the central facets of her work. She always chooses to shoot with analogue film on her projects.
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