Poster Design Contest
Thanks to all who entered the contest.
Winning design
EXPLORING NEW REALMS
Hazik Amir
For the Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival poster, I drew inspiration from the festival’s theme, “See the World Through Blue,” and its mission to bring global cinema to our local community. The approach to this poster was inspired by the geometrical abstract art style, reflecting the festival’s adventurous spirit and vibrant energy.
The mountains depicted in the design symbolize the vast cinematic landscapes waiting to be explored, while the abstract face at the center represents the spirit of adventure and discovery. The wings spreading from the face illustrate how the festival takes us on journeys to new places, beyond our everyday lives.
With bright colors and an abstract style, the poster captures the excitement and creativity of the festival’s films. My aim was to evoke the thrill of discovering new stories and cultures through cinema.
Thrilled to be part of the Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival, Hazik looks forward to bringing his passion for storytelling and design to the event, contributing to its success with his unique vision and expertise.
Runners up
BMFM 2024
Pavel mirzoyan
My design for a poster draws inspiration from the vibrant colours and natural beauty of the Blue Mountains, incorporating elements of nature to evoke a sense of wonder and exploration. The use of bright colours captures the energy and excitement of a film festival, while the imagery of the Blue Mountains adds a touch of serenity and adventure.
Incorporating a global vision symbolizes the film festival’s global reach and impact, suggesting that it brings together diverse cultures and perspectives from around the world. This motif highlights the festival’s commitment to showcasing international cinema and fostering cross-cultural understanding.
Overall, my design combines nature’s allure with cinema’s universality, inviting viewers to embark on a cinematic journey that transcends geographical boundaries.
upon a star
Corbin elliot
I invite viewers to ‘See the World Through Blue,’ as influenced by the stars upon which we coexist. As the star stands for an eternal symbol of hope and inspiration, combined with the wisdom and serenity that is seen through the colour blue, such optimism and motivation becomes embodied by those filmmakers that we celebrate at the Blue Mountain Film Festival. With a camera lens as their eyes, these artists come to create, capture, and champion various aspects of our earth and humanity that will captivate the curious minds of audiences abroad.
BMFF Contest
chen li
Inspired by the limited colours, simple geometry and typography of Bauhaus design, I created a poster that encapsulates the festival’s theme while keeping things clean and engaging.
Aiming to keep with the recurring mascot of the Red-tailed Hawk, I used simple shapes to create an abstract silhouette of a hawk grasping the iconic orange circle from the festival’s logomark between its beak. The eye of the hawk connects to the words “see” and “blue” from the festival’s slogan while also depicting a simple compass or map marker, highlighting the travel/international aspect of the festival.
The hill symbol that connects the words “through” and “blue” pays homage to the hilly landscape of the local area.
BMFF 3
Richard Smerdon
The graphic figure represents the diversity of the world of film from a global perspective. Both from the many countries and cultures featured in the films being shown and the different interests of the viewing audience.
The blue hills in the lower portion of the graphic symbolize the blue mountains of Collingwood.
Past Posters
What is a Film Festival Poster?
Designed to attract an audience and project an identity, festival posters are an essential tool in the marketing and branding of festivals, and contribute to a multifaceted festival experience.
The concept of film festivals started to emerge in the early to mid-20th century. The Venice Film Festival, established in 1932, is one of the oldest film festivals in the world, with one of the oldest posters. During these early years, festivals were still finding their footing, and promotional materials were likely limited.
Enter the Film Festival Poster. As film festivals gained prominence globally, the need for effective promotion increased. Posters became a common medium for advertising, providing a visual representation of the festival and its identity. These posters often featured iconic images, festival logos, and key information about the event. Over the decades, film festival posters have evolved in terms of design, cultural reflection – representing the place and the artistic themes of the festival, printing technology, and the introduction of the digital era – adapting the traditional concept to the digital landscape. Film festival posters have been and continue to be an integral part of promoting and marketing film festivals.
Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival Posters
For the first two years of the festival, Doublenaut Design and Illustration Studio (featuring Matt McCracken, Andrew McCracken & Ross Proulx) designed the festival posters. Founded in 2004 in Toronto, Doublenaut has made significant contributions to the visual aesthetic of Toronto’s vibrant culture through branding, illustration & poster design for some of the city’s most acclaimed brands & artists. Doublenaut also creates bold and thoughtful work internationally for brands like Adidas, Facebook, Nike & more.
2023 Poster
The 2023 poster was inspired by the festival’s new slogan: See the World Through Blue. With that in mind, Doublenaut wanted to create a poster reminiscent of travel posters and ads from the Mid-Century that became popular with competing airlines. In the context of this poster, they used the silhouette of native red-tailed hawks circling the globe in place of an airplane, highlighting the international curation of the festival. A watchful eye at the globe’s center is immersed in a graphic nature scene, representing the unique vision of each film viewed by attendees in the heart of Blue Mountain Village’s beautiful landscape.
2022 Poster
In 2022, our Executive Director’s direction was to communicate the idea that we were taking the audience on a journey. BMFF was meant to be a portal to the world, so the poster explores the idea of transformation, and worlds within worlds. The hawk symbolizes the journey and international aspects of the festival while grounding it in the place of Blue Mountain.