Poster Design Contest Now Closed
Thanks to all who entered the contest.
Contest Details
Contest period: February 23rd – April 21st, 2024
Winner announcement: April 30th, 2024
Who can enter: Participants must be Canadian and aged 18 years or older
Entry fee: There is no cost to enter
Submission Guidelines:
- 11 inches wide x 17 inches tall, with an additional 0.25 inch bleed, CMYK, 300 dpi
- 20% free space on the bottom of the poster to overlay additional content and logos
- Fonts must be noted and rasterized in submissions
- For submission, please upload a PNG or JPG
- 100% original artwork only
- Submitter must create any images or photos used (no stock photos or elements pulled from the internet)
- File Name: Name of Artist (as it appears on the entrance form)_Title of Entry
- The winner will be asked to provide a print-ready PDF
More details
- Design objective: explore the theme and create an original poster design featuring an appealing image to promote the Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival and the overall cultural community in our region.
- Context: The theme and slogan of the festival is “See the World Through Blue.” We travel the globe to find the world’s greatest cinema and present it at the festival, so festival-goers get an insider’s view of what is happening in the world of cinema. We believe cinema can enrich people’s lives and inspire them to be more than spectators in life.
- Style: adventurous, vibrant, simplistic
Entries will be judged based on the following criteria:
- Artistic creativity and originality
- Representation of the theme
- Overall visual impact and readability as a festival poster
Grand Prize Winner (1)
- A cash prize of $1,000
- 2 tickets to the Opening Film & Party
- Recognition as the 2024 official Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival Poster Artist
- Artwork featured prominently in festival promotions, merchandise, social media, website, and print publications
Runners Up (Up to 4 Winners)
- A cash prize of $250
- 2 tickets to the Opening Film & Party
- Recognition on Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival website
- Acknowledgment and artwork displayed in the main festival lobby
Winner Announcement
The winning design will be announced on April 30th through Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival’s official social media channels and website.
- Participants must be Canadian artists aged 18 years or older.
- Submissions must be original and not previously used or submitted elsewhere.
- The winning works and all their rights will become the property of the Blue Mountain Village Association.
- By entering the contest, participants grant Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival the right to use their submitted artwork for promotional purposes in perpetuity relating to the Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival Poster Contest.
- Posters will be sold and used for promotional purposes.
- Additional file formats may be requested from the winner for digital use.
- Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival reserves the right to disqualify entries not meeting the contest criteria.
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.