Best Pro "Arts and Cultures" Picture
An open-air movie enthralls remote villagers in India's Maharashtra state in this year's winning picture from the "Arts and Culture" category of the World Photography Awards Professional Competition, which were announced in London late last month.
According to Indian photographer Amit Madheshiya, travelling cinemas visit villages far from movie theaters once a year, screening an eclectic mix of films for the equivalent of about 40 U.S. cents a ticket.
Administered by the World Photography Organisation and sponsored by Sony, the awards are chosen by a panel of 12 judges, which this year was led by British photography critic Francis Hodges and included National Geographic magazine senior photography editor Kathy Moran. (The National Geographic Society owns both the magazine and National Geographic News.)
The 2011 winners—including the selected pictures shown here—were chosen from more than 51,000 submissions from 148 countries. Photographers competed in multiple categories in either the Professional Competition or the Open Competition, for amateur photographers.
—Korena Di Roma
Best Pictures: World Photography Awards 2011
From the unforgettable eyes of a child in Bangladesh to leaflike bugs in Tokyo, see our favorite winners of the 2011 World Photography Awards.