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Geert van Kesteren (b. 1966) is a photographer and filmmaker born in the Netherlands and currently based in Yafo Tel-Aviv.
In his early career, Van Kesteren was working as a photojournalist for international magazines such as Der Stern and Newsweek covering crises and the news in more than 50 countries. He was represented by Magnum Photos from 2005-8. Today, he shifted from photography to filmmaking and works in Israel and the Palestinian Territories as a cinematographer for independent documentary filmmakers and camera operator for public news broadcasters such as the NOS.
Besides his work in the global media, Van Kesteren uses innovative and experimental methods of reporting and presenting, resulting in complex multimedia installations such as 'The Believers' (2018) and groundbreaking photo books, such as ‘Why Mister, Why?’ (2004) and ‘Baghdad Calling’ (2008), became instantly collector items and were considered the two most relevant photo books about the United States’ Iraq war. Van Kesteren is the recipient of the prestigious Infinity Award in Photojournalism of the International Center of Photography in New York, the Libre d’Or at Photo Espana, and a World Press Photo award, among others.
His work has been exhibited at the Barbican Art Gallery in London, the Photo museum in Rotterdam, and Rencontres de la Photography in Arles. It is part of important photo collections, f.e. at the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands. As a lecturer at universities and symposia, Van Kesteren effectively explores story-telling and critical issues about the relations between photography and film, conflict, migration, and the claims to territory.
With his partner Noa, he holds a studio in Yafo-Tel Aviv where they produce, film, and edit documentary films, short videos, and installations. Momentarily Van Kesteren is working on a long-term project—’Jaffa Revisited’—that shines a light on the works of Dutch photographer Frank Scholten who documented life in British Palestine in the early 1920s.