Series - FotoSlovo 2026 - Category « Documentary / Reportage »

Belene Prison is located in northern Bulgaria on the border with Romania and is the most strictly guarded in my country. It is no coincidence that it is situated on an island, making escape practically impossible. Because of this, it houses the largest number of people serving life sentences for murder. I wanted to connect with these people and understand their stories and the reasons that led to their crimes. Free citizens in my country know nothing about prisons and have no real idea what it is to be incarcerated or to serve a sentence of deprivation of liberty. That was why I wanted to show the project to the public - to open that door and reveal the reality, to tell the stories, and to demonstrate that a crime often has its roots in childhood and that, very often, we as a society are also to blame because of our inaction.