Snap die Verwandlung
Kafkas Welt durch deine Linse
The competition is completed.
Who was Franz Kafka?
Franz Kafka was an author who wrote in German. He was born in Prague in 1883. This city belonged to Austria at the time and is now part of the Czech Republic. He studied law and gained a doctorate in this subject. He was also very interested in the German language. He worked for an insurance company that helped people with accidents at work. In the evenings, Kafka wrote stories, often late into the night.
Situations of fear and nervousness play a major role in Kafka's stories. He describes everything in detail in his texts, but his stories still feel like a nightmare and the characters are often nervous, irritated or anxious. There is a word for this uneasy feeling: ‘Kafkaesque’. It is used when a situation is bizarre, illogical or depressing. Kafka suffered from tuberculosis. He also had a lot of stress, headaches and a fear of contact with other people.
He died in 1924 at the age of 40. His stories are still important today and are part of world literature. 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka's death.
Congratulations to the winners!
First Place: “Echo eines verlassenen Herzens”
Αrseniy Martinovich, Yana Zinovkina
Second Place: “Der Schmerz des Werdens”
Sophia Galanou, Olga Chadina
Third Place: “Technomorphosis”
Daria Vasilyeva, Wang Zhangyingqian
Special prize: “Gregors Transformation”
Maya Ioannou, Olha Kovalchuk
About the competition
You were asked to reproduce the central motif of The Metamorphosis photographically. You could stage a scene, create a symbolic representation or interpret the theme of transformation and identity in your very own way.
You had to work together in groups of two or three and produce a photo series of up to four photos documenting a transformation. The photos could be in black and white or colour. You had to write your own text in German of at least 150 and no more than 250 words about the creation of the photo series, your inspiration and motivation and how Kafka inspired you.
A jury has selected the best entries. There were great prizes for the winners.
The closing date for entries was 28 October 2024
Please consider the following:
- The photos could be in black and white or in colour.
- The photos coulc be in landscape or portrait format.
- The accompanying text had to be be in German.
- You could send us up to four individual photos or a series of up to four photos in JPEG format with a minimum resolution of 1,701 pixels on the shorter side and 2,551 pixels on the longer side.
- No AI-generated photos could be submitted!
You could enter the competition if you were 12–18 years old and are studying German at a public or private school/institution. Your level of German could be anywhere from A1 to C2. Your teachers could help with the task!
Your photos would be considered for the competition if they are submitted within the deadline and if you had complied with all the criteria.
1st prize: shopping voucher from “Public”, worth €500.
2nd prize: shopping voucher from “Public”, worth €300.
3rd prize: shopping voucher from “Public”, worth €200.
What counted for the jury are originality, creative ideas, clarity, personal contribution, the appropriate use of the German language (written), comprehensibility and the artistic execution of the video. The winners were announced in the beginning of November 2024.
The best photos will be published on the Goethe-Institut Cyprus website and presented in the framework of an exhibition about Kafka in the hall of the Goethe-Institut in Nicosia. For this, we need a written declaration of consent from one of your legal guardians.
- You can enter the competition if you are between the ages of 12–18 and live in Cyprus
- The photos can be in black and white or in colour, in landscape or portrait format.
- Important: You may not use images that you simply downloaded from the internet. No AI-generated photos may be submitted.
- Everyone who appears in your photos must agree to it.
- A jury decides on the winners. The jury’s decision is binding for all participants and cannot be contested.
- In order for your contribution to be published on the Goethe-Institut’s website and social media, we ask you to send a corresponding declaration of consent from your parents via the registration form.
- By submitting your entry, you agree to the terms and conditions.
Do you still have any questions?
wettbewerb-nikosia@goethe.de