About

Biography

My name is Paolo Ghisu, I live between Italy and Mozambique, and I work as a photographer, videomaker, and professional in international cooperation.
I graduated in Economics and International Relations from the University of Trento, with study and research experience at the University of Melbourne in Australia and in Tanzania. For over ten years, I collaborated with NGOs and international organizations in the management, monitoring, and evaluation of development cooperation projects, writing articles and papers on issues related to sustainability, human rights, and global policies.

In 2021, I decided to give a new direction to a long-standing passion of mine: photography. Since then, I have been using images and videos to tell stories of resilience, diversity, sustainability, and the environmental and humanitarian crises of our time. I collaborate with NGOs, international organisations, and third-sector organizations to create reportages, documentaries, and communication campaigns, with the aim of highlighting projects with a strong social and environmental impact.

Over the years, I have worked as a photographer and videomaker with several organizations, including: the World Bank, the Centro per la Cooperazione Internazionale, CAM, Fondazione E35, Helpcode, ICEI, the International Labour Organization, and Terre des Hommes Italy. I am one of the contributors to 100 Stories of Nature, a collective and traveling photography exhibition on biodiversity, and a member of the national association Witness Journal.

Among my most recent works:

• Fully Booked (2021): a reportage inside the Grande Hotel of Beira, Mozambique – one of the most populated squatted buildings in the world. The project was exhibited in various venues in Italy and Mozambique and was selected as a finalist at the Festival of Ethical Photography in Lodi. In collaboration with Terre des Hommes Italy.
• Cabo Delgado (2024): a photographic reportage on gender-based violence and the psychosocial recovery of women, girls, and children affected by the conflict and humanitarian crisis in northern Mozambique. In collaboration with Helpcode.
• Labirinto Macuti, Photographs and Soundscapes from Beira (2025): a journey through images and soundscapes in the coastal neighborhood of Macuti. The project was exhibited in Trento, selected at the International Month of Photojournalism Festival in Padua, and was a finalist at the Festival of Ethical Photography in Lodi. Created in collaboration with the Centro per la Cooperazione Internazionale and the Mozambican Associations Consortium.
• The Chant of Ice: a documentary in progress on the melting of the Lares glacier (Adamello-Presanella, Trentino), told through short films, museum video installations, a feature-length film, a photographic exhibition, and public events. Co-directed and co-shot with Stefano Collizzolli. Produced by Zalab and Associazione Bianconero.
  The Summer of Larch, available as a video installation and short film, was selected at the Trento Film Festival (2025), exhibited at the MUSE in Trento, MART in Rovereto, and screened in several cinemas.

I am currently developing new photography and video projects and am always open to collaborations in Italy, Mozambique, and beyond.