Peter Dench has had five screenings in eight years of Visa Pour l'Image, the photojournalism festival that kicked off yesterday evening in Perpignan, France. This year, the British photographer is seeing 10 years of his work shown on the walls of Couvent des Minimes.

"I didn't really have a new project to submit this year," Dench tells BJP. "But, I thought that Jean-François Leroy must be enjoying in some capacity what I do, so I wrote him a letter and said ‘Please, can I have an exhibition?'" For Dench, an exhibition would be the perfect way to close the chapter on this work before taking on new projects.

Around April, Leroy was on the phone. "I was in the offices of BBC Newsnight when he called. I think I cried out of joy three times in my life. This was the fourth time. For me it's comparable to winning the World Press Photo. It's something to be proud of."

Dench sent Leroy an edit of 120 pictures. "He came back with 41, and after we discussed the edit, I was able to add one more... I'm quite a big believer in other people's skills, so even when I'm submitting work for a commission, I would do my job to the best of my capabilities and hand it over to whichever art director that's laying it out. I don't put any pressure on how they do their job because they're good at it, generally." And in the case of Visa Pour l'Image, Dench has taken the same approach. "I've kind of gone with the flow," he tells BJP. "And, I like the French eye on my work. My instinct is always to choose the images that will have the biggest impact. But, Jean-François has gone for a few quieter ones." For example, there is an image of a man in leopard-print tights or that of an old couple cuddling on a bed. "I would tend to choose the other images - those where people are drunk. But I think it was a good idea to choose these quieter ones."

The car park at Epsom Derby, the historic horse racing event: a couple kiss while a man is sick nearby. Image © Peter Dench.

Over the past 10 years, Dench has broken his work down into "manageable themes," he says. "The mains ones being alcohol, ethnicity, the weather and food. The work shown at Visa Pour l'Image is drawn from all these categories. I describe it as a laugh-out-loud romp through this often-badly behaved land. Geographically, all corners of England are covered."

But humour serves a specific purpose, says Dench. "I'm a big believer in humour in photography, because I think that the impact if tenfold when you can make people laugh and then drop in a more serious image. You laugh, you laugh, then you gasp. It's what I think the show does very well.

Now, Dench is looking ahead. "I'm working on this stills and video project around the idea of English people living abroad," he says. "I'm interested by the convergence between stills and moving images. You have to diversify or die. I think these are tough times, but exciting times."

Peter Dench's exhibition at Visa Pour l'Image runs until 11 September. For more information, visit www.visapourlimage.com and www.peterdench.com.