Saamis, We Used to Live In The Tundra

• Photographer
  Natalya Saprunova
• Agency / Studio
  Zeppelin Agency
• Prize
  Bronze in People / Culture
• Socials
• Website
  https://natalyasaprunova.myportfolio.com/work

Settled on the Kola Peninsula, Saamis of Russia lost their nomadic autonomy with the arrival of the Soviet power in the 1920s. This people who lived mainly from reindeer herding and fishing in the tundra, was forced to live in apartment buildings. Children of nature, Saamis were depressed about losing their natural rhythms and being locked in "cages". Gathered in a main Saami village - Lovozero, located in the hinterland of the city of Murmansk, this place was considered as a reserve. Settled to work in kolkhozes, they no longer had the right to be Saami.

• Biography
  Natalya Saprunova, born in the arctic region of Russia in Murmansk, she is a freelance documentary photographer. Natalya is a member of the french photo agency - Zeppelin. First worked as a French teacher, then studied at the Ecole des Métiers de l’Information in Paris and became a French citizen. In Russia, she worked as a photographer for a daily newspaper in Murmansk. Natalya now teaches photography at Graine de Photographe school in Paris and does documentary reportages. Her topics are the transformation of societies, identity, youth, spirituality and femininity.
• Awards
  ? Category Winner of the Open Call: Carte Blanche from Lucie Foundation with an image from the project: Saamis, we used to live in the Tundra, 2022 ? Kolga Tbilisi Photo Award 2022 shortlisted, Saamis ? CANON Story Daily Life 1st Prize Winner 2022, Istanbul Photo Awards, We used to live in the Tundra ? 10 Images From Creative Photographer, a photography Cowboy, The Independent Photographer, 2022 ? Belfast Photo Festival 2022 shortlisted with mention Highly commended, Saamis, we used to live in the Tundra ? Session #1 2022 Finalist & Public price, Prix Mentor grant, Saamis, we used to live in the Tundra, Paris, France ? 12 Editor’s Picks of 2022 January's Visual Storytelling Award, The Independent Photographer, an image from the project: Saamis, we used to live in the Tundra ? TOP 100, Russian Photo Awards 2021, Children photography category, a photography of a Saami little girl ? UNICEF Photo of the Year 2021, Honorable Mention, We used to live in the Tundra ? 14 Editor’s Picks of 2021 November's Portrait Photography Award, The Independent Photographer, a portrait of a school dropout Cowboy ? ANI 2021 favorite, Muslims, Peace and Love series, Visa pour l'Image, Perpignan, France ? Winner of the Transphotographiques 2021 festval, Confronting the everyday through an imaginary future series, Lille, France ? Screening winner, Prix Maison Blanche 2021, Photo festival Marseille 2021, Confronting everyday life through an imaginary future, France ? Semi-finalist, The most beautiful country VII, Russian Geographical Society, the Sami people, 2020 ? ANI 2020 favorite presented to the final jury, Young school dropouts of Calais city, France, Visa pour l'Image, Perpignan, France ? Finalist of the Grand Prix Paris Match 2020 student photo essay, The survivalists were they right? Paris, 2020 ? 3rd prize, Travels category, Isolated: life around Baikal Lake, All About Photo magazine, 2020 ? 2018 finalist at Sophot gallery, Portrait of the city of Athens after the Crisis, Paris