The Rory Peck Foundation announces the finalists for its annual awards

Sponsored by Sony, these awards honor the work of independent photojournalists in the field of news and current affairs.

The Rory Peck Foundation announced this Monday the names of the finalists for the 2016 Rory Peck Awards sponsored by Sony, which honor the work of independent photojournalists in the field of news and current affairs. This year's nominees include new and veteran finalists from eight countries, including freelance reporters from Syria and the United Kingdom.

This year's featured stories are those of refugees and migrants. The finalist in the news category, Will Vassilopoulos, and the finalists in the best reporting category, Marco Salustro and Lottie Gammon, tell us stories of desperation, detention and kidnapping in Greece, Libya and Macedonia, respectively.

Independent Syrian and Yemeni journalists living and working at the heart of the conflict are finalists in the news category for the intense material they have obtained on the front lines of the combat. Waad Al Kateeb: a 24-year-old Syrian mother from Aleppo and Yemeni photojournalist Nabil Hassan from Aden show us the devastation suffered by their hometowns and their inhabitants.

The disputes and motivations of soldiers fighting for and against extremism in Syria and Iraq are reflected in great detail in the work of Paul Salahadin Refsdal, a finalist in the Sony Impact category, in a haunting portrait of the Jabat al Nusra suicide bombers; as well as that of the finalists in the news category Ayman Oghanna and Jaff Warzer, who managed to join the Iraqi elite Golden Division in their fight to expel the Islamic State from the province of Anbar.

Sony Impact finalists Marcel Mettelsiefen and Ben Steele movingly explore the resilience of families and children rebuilding lives devastated by the Syrian conflict and Ebola in Sierra Leone, through masterful filmmaking that ultimately gives us hope.

“The work of this year's finalists demonstrates very clearly that freelancers are at the forefront of news and current affairs, breaking stories that shape the global agenda, informing us, challenging our opinions and inspiring us to act." Their curiosity, bravery and dedication is inspiring, says Tina Carr, director of the Rory Peck Foundation. "But as journalists around the world continue to be in the spotlight, freelancers are the most vulnerable: many of them still work alone, without any support. “We want to recognize the value of these reporters and are proud to support them through the awards and our work at the Foundation.”

"At Sony we believe in the incredible power of images and nowhere is this better exemplified than in the work of videographers. That's why we pay tribute to their work with the Rory Peck Awards," says Michael Harrit, Marketing Director Media Solutions at Sony Professional Solutions, Europe. "The fact that this year's finalists have produced such sophisticated and impactful work in unimaginable circumstances is an inspiration to us all. Our sponsorship of the Rory Peck Awards is Sony's way of recognizing the immense value that freelancers bring to the news agenda, as well as our recognition of the Rory Peck Foundation's work in providing support in these difficult times."

This year's winners will be announced at the Rory Peck Awards ceremony, which will take place at the BFI grounds on London's Southbank on Wednesday 7 December. The event is the main fundraising avenue for the Rory Peck Foundation, dedicated to supporting independent journalists and their families around the world.