SHADOWS BEFORE SUNRISE

A photo story about Russian indigenous people, who hide into the woods and use magic to cope with the dark times


Veps, one of Russia’s smallest indigenous peoples, settled in the north of the country more than a 1000 years ago. This ancient Baltic Finnic people is often called the people of the woods for their profound connection to the forest, When Russia announced mobilization, many Veps abandoned their homes and hid among the trees, refusing to fight in a war that was not theirs. For centuries, the Veps have relied not on the state but on their own gods. Although Christianity once supplanted Paganism, older beliefs never disappeared. In moments of fear, they still pray to forest spirits and follow rituals that guide them through uncertainty. Witchcraft here is not spectacle but an intimate force that quietly permeates everyday life.
THE LIVING GODDESS

The isolated life of Nepal's living goddess and
returning to normal life




To be anointed as a "kumari", Nepal's living goddess, is a dream for many girls and their parents. But only a few children can become the most celebrated figure in the country. A little girl is being worshipped by Buddhists, Hindus, royals and government officials until her first menstruation. Then, she is replaced by another "goddess". Being Kumari is a challenging role. At the age of three, a child is taken from family to live in isolation for the next 10 years. But returning to society after retiring the job of a living goddess is even harder. How does it feel to be a god and then a mortal in the story of the 5-year-old current Kumari, 12-year-old and 60-year-old ex-goddesses.
THE VANISHING CRAFT

The death and rebirth of a
500-year-old tradition





Shrimp fishing on horseback, named to UNESCO's intangible heritage list, was once practiced all around the North Sea - in The Netherlands, UK, Belgium and France. Now this tradition exists only in one place in the world – in Oostduinkerke, a small Belgium fishermen' village. Today, fifteen fishermen have been working hard to preserve this craft. How they get along with each other, their horses and the sea – a story of a father, his son and the only woman, engaged in shrimp fishing.