Iason Athanasiadis is a multimedia videojournalist based between Athens, Istanbul and Tunis. Iason has covered the MENA region since 1998, is native in Greek and English, near-native in Arabic and Persian, and conversational in Turkish. He is available for all stories related to migration, economic issues, heritage and the environment. His private work focuses on the Mediterranean, and in particular on how once-cosmopolitan, now-neglected port cities can recover from the effects of colonialism and nationalist narratives while adapting to the era of climate change, mass migration, and the misapplication of distorted modernities on heritage and regional traditions.
Carrying hope - a teaser for the World Humanitarian Conference in 2016 in Istanbul
Images from a land of paradox through the Los Angeles-based exhibit of my photography from three years of living in Iran, Exploring the Other
The full archive of my reporting from the MENA region, Turkey and Greece in the Christian Science Monitor
First/Last Stop on the East Med: a short video introduction to a piece on the refugee landing experience on the Greek island of Lesvos/Mytilini
Mystical Kabul: At a time of increasing violence, photojournalist Iason Athanasiadis explores part of the city’s underground rarely seen—the Sufi sect’s ecstatic ceremonies—in a photo essay he calls “mystical Kabul.” We see the Sufi tarighat (brotherhood) move to zikr rhythms, a practice banned by the Taliban, as he describes the comeback of Sufi mysticism. Many complexities of the Afghan story were brought into focus when Nieman Reports looked at coverage.
A promotional video shot for the launch of the Refugees Deeply website.
Protecting Tunisia’s Heritage: a feature shot for UNESCO during this season of unprecedented heritage destruction sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, about how some young Tunisians are taking matters into their own hands and raising awareness about the importance of protecting their culture before it's too late.
The Angel of Catania, a feature about a Moroccan-Italian activist who helped migrants and refugees seeking to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy's Sicily.
‘I Only Went to School for One Day’ - a short video for UNESCO's Education initiative on schooling for young Syrian refugees.
A documentary I shot about the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon for UNICEF
Athenian Panopticon - How can Athens inspire Documenta 14 to challenge our understanding of the global moment?
A Tale of Two Cities - How Post-Revolutionary Libya Went to the Polls in 2012: a full-length documentary I conceived of, shot and edited for the UN Support Mission in Libya, in 2011-2012.