Tuesday, Dec. 15, is the last day to enter the 2021 San Diego Latino Film Festival poster competition for Media Arts Center San Diego.
The winning entry is worth a $1,000 cash prize and will be heavily featured throughout all the promotional materials for the festival.
Ten finalists will also receive two tickets each for the festival as well as some exposure for their work.
Founder and executive director of the center Ethan van Thillo said submissions should reflect an iconic design that captures the essence of this annual celebration of Latino film, music and art.
A panel of judges including artists, graphic designers, marketing professionals and art educators will select the winning poster according to the following criteria: unique, positive and non-stereotypical representation of Latino culture; clarity and originality of message; impact, memorability and appeal to general audiences; versatility for application on various mediums; design.
The most notable difference from past years, van Thillo said, is the 28th film festival will feature both in-person screenings at movie theaters as well as virtual screenings.
“The festival is going to be a hybrid event this time, somewhat virtual and in person so we’re looking for that to be incorporated into the visual images of the design,” van Thillo said.
There are many images already, he said, of people on a red carpet or imagery that is associated with in-person events like attending a film festival in person. It has been a challenge to dig for images that suggest attending a film festival while physically distancing in the age of COVID-19.
“There are many images of people on a red carpet but we don’t have any images of people sitting on their carpet,” van Thillo said.
Additionally, he said the design should include different elements that can be used for a variety of advertising pieces, especially in this particular year when exposure and is geared toward online presentation.
The whole design should be laid out so that its components can be utilized on their own. The image gets incorporated into so many forms of advertisements so “we’re also looking for posters with elements that can be used for different marketing pieces.”
“We’ll still have in-person activities like the festival program so the design will be used on the flyers. We also have media partners and there’s television images used with promotions as well,” van Thillo said.
Lastly, van Thillo said they want to clearly avoid any predictable images being included in final designs, which can happen with artists from very removed countries who sometimes incorporate items like chilis, skulls or pinatas.
“We want to make sure it doesn’t have stereotypical images; we try to steer clear of what people’s image of Latinos might be… Really, we’re looking for images that truly celebrate Latino culture or film, visual arts,” van Thillo said, “something people would put on their walls.”
Ideally he’d like the winner to be a local artist.
“It’s always been a challenge to get locals to participate. We get people from Russia, Mexico, South Korea,” but don’t always receive local entries.
“Wouldn’t it be great to have a local artist get that prize money, especially in this time of COVID-19 with everyone in need? You know, what better way to support the community? It’s more important than ever to support our local artists,” van Thillo said.
A few years ago, he said, is the last time he can remember a local winning but “here is that $1,000 cash prize which is pretty good these days.”
For more information and entry information, visit https:
//filmfreeway.com/28SDLFF PosterContest. Winners will be announced on Jan. 14, 2021.
