I’m Claudia Rosel (Spain, 1994), a photographer and filmmaker exploring the intersections of migration, climate change, and culture.
My work has been published in The Guardian, Associated Press, El País, CTXT, Al Jazeera, and others. I’ve spent extended periods living and working in Somalia, Kenya, and Mexico, and reported from countries including Ethiopia, Greece, Qatar, South Africa, Palestine, and the United States.
For five years, I worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Migration Agency, covering stories on drought, displacement, and human trafficking. Four of those years I was based in the East and Horn of Africa as Communications Officer for Somalia, traveling across the region to document humanitarian crises. I also supported IOM’s crisis response to the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan and later reported on Afghans awaiting U.S. resettlement in Qatar. During this time, my work appeared in dozens of international outlets, and I collaborated as a field producer on video segments for PBS NewsHour, Deutsche Welles, and Reuters.
In 2024, I left the humanitarian sector to continue working independently. I went on to earn an M.S. in Documentary Filmmaking from Columbia Journalism School (2025), supported by a scholarship from Fundación La Caixa. I have since received two Pulitzer Center grants and an Overseas Press Club Fellowship, which brought me to the Associated Press bureau in Mexico, where I now live and work.
I am currently co-directing Revival, a short documentary about aging and the need for human connection, set to premiere in December 2025.
I received training to work in hostile environments and I am a certified PADI Advanced/Rescue Diver.
When I’m not behind the camera, I’m often in the water or on the road, learning about history and cultures. I’ve had the opportunity to travel to more than 50 countries, experiences that have broadened my perspective and continue to inform my work.
✉️ claudiaroselphoto [at] gmail (dot) com
Fellowships, Grants & Exhibitions
2025 Pulitzer Centre Crisis Reporting Grant (Columbia University)
2025 Pulitzer Centre Crisis Reporting Fellow (Campus Consortium)
2025 Overseas Press Club Foundation Scholar Fellow
2025 Exhibition Invisible Walls, Pulitzer Hall, Columbia University
2025 Flow Trip Photo Contest - Honorable Mention
2024 La Caixa Post-Graduate Fellow
2024 Bronx Documentary Centre Portfolio Review
2023 Eddie Adams Workshop - Tie Dye
2022 Exhibition Where Life Takes Us - Somaliland