© Tomaso Clavarino

This free Open Call to submit extraordinary projects is promoted by the international visual narrative festival Cortona On The Move and LensCulture, in search of original and impactful projects from around the world.

We are looking for stories of striking humanity.

"We Are Humans" is the central theme of the 2021 edition of Cortona On The Move, a broad vision in which we are all protagonists, a collective story of us being human: between intimacy and public dimension, between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

For this choral tale, a single alphabet is not enough, we are interested in new languages, new grammar, original narratives that can surprise, provoke, inform and excite. We are looking for stories that challenge the viewer's eyes, innovative in form and content, providing a different view of contemporary humanity and its facets.

We seek projects that narrate the curiosity of human beings and their ability, our ability, to look at the world with different eyes, with new perspectives and new visions.

Humans Are New Visions.

Application process

Applications can be submitted from 9 February to 15 March 2021 according to the following criteria. The 10 finalists will be screened at Cortona On The Move 2021. Among them, two winners will have a solo exhibition at the festival, and two will be published on the LensCulture website, thus becoming visible to the platform's network of contacts.

We look forward to receiving your proposals!

Entries should include:

● 15 images maximum. Images should be in .JPEG or .PNG file format, with a minimum of 1200 pixels on the longest side (but up to 2000 pixels is fine) and should not exceed 10 MB. Each image submitted must be matched by a high-resolution file of at least 10Mbps. These files will be required if your work is selected.

● A title

● A brief introduction to your proposal in English (a short introductory text about your work not exceeding 4000 characters, including spaces)

● A short biography in English (a brief description, not a Curriculum Vitae)

● Answer to the question: “We Are Humans”, the central theme of Cortona On The Move 2021. The New Vision call does not have a specific theme, but it will be included in the context of the festival. In terms of the project you presented, what meaning do you attach to the term "Humans"? How would you complete this sentence with just one word: ‘Humans are…’?


"We Are Humans" is the central theme of Cortona On The Move 2021. The New Vision call does not have a specific theme, but it will be included in the context of the festival. In terms of the project you presented, what meaning do you attach to the term "Humans"?

Selected Projects

The finalist projects will be announced and published on the COTM and LensCulture websites on 3 May 2021. These projects will be screened in Cortona during the awards evening event.

Among them:

● 2 projects will be presented as individual exhibitions at this forthcoming Cortona On The Move festival, from 15 July to 26 September 2021.

● 2 projects will be published on the LensCulture website during 2021.

The 4 selected works will be announced and published on the websites and social channels of COTM and LensCulture on 14 May 2021.

Eligibility criteria

Each project submitted must consist of a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 15 photos and a short introduction in English. Otherwise, the work will be excluded from participation.

The author must have exclusive copyright ownership of the work.

Any project resulting from the work of more than one author must be submitted by agreement between each of the parties involved and it must be accompanied by a declaration signed by each party.

By participating in the open call all photographers grant Cortona On The Move the legal rights to publish their work online, offline and on social media for the festival's promotional purposes.

The winning photographers grant Cortona On The Move the legal rights to exhibit their work and publish it in print for promotional purposes. Photographic prints of the winning projects will be made at the expense of ONTHEMOVE Cultural Association and will become part of the Association's archives. ONTHEMOVE may use them within other events, upon agreement with the author. The winning photographers also authorize ONTHEMOVE cultural association to use the images for press, offline and online media, social media and for all promotional purposes of the festival. The images will always be accompanied by the photographer's credit.

Selection Committee

A panel of industry experts will select the projects.

Jim Casper, Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of LensCulture

Laura Sackett, Creative Director and Co-Founder of LensCulture

Arianna Rinaldo, Artistic Director of Cortona On The Move

Antonio Carloni, Director of Cortona On The Move