Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) is accepting submissions for the 9th Annual Bahamas International Film Festival 2012 Poster Competition.

Please submit finished work to leslie@bintlfilmfest.com
Deadline Monday April 30th, 2012 no extensions.

Rules:
Bahamians and Residents Of The Bahamas only need apply;
BIFF will have full ownership of the Poster to be used for the purpose of the 2012 BIFF;
Deadline Monday April 30th, 2012 no extensions.
Notification of winner May 7th, 2012

Prizes:
Exposure on BIFF Website and full page write up in the BIFF Official Festival Program;
Two (2) All Access Passes to 2012 BIFF December 6 – 9;
Press coverage on TV, Radio, Newspaper and Social Media.

Posters for the eight years of The Bahamas International Film Festival have been as varied as the artists behind them, yet always offered a breathtaking spin on their slogan “Cinema in Paradise.” Now The Bahamas International Film Festival is opening up their poster design in a competition for artists living and practicing in The Bahamas.

“This year we’re looking for an artist with a really strong graphic background,” says Leslie Vanderpool, founder of BIFF. “We want to make sure in the design that they don’t have the traditional paradise feel or narrative but push the envelope with our slogan ‘Cinema in Paradise.’ They can be as open-ended as they want to be.”

The Bahamas International Film Festival attempted a poster design competition years ago when they began, yet the lukewarm response led them to simply approach different artists each year. After six years featuring work by Bahamian artists—such as by Dionne Benjamin-Smith and Lavar Munroe—and two years featuring international artist work, BIFF has decided to try a competition again.

“I hope we do get a lot more submissions than the last time we opened one,” says Vanderpool. “The intention was always to have a poster competition but I think people really had to understand what a film festival was before something like this was broadcast.”

“It’s important to encourage Bahamian artists,” she continues. “If we have a film festival in The Bahamas I think it’s extremely important to provide opportunities for them on The Bahamian circuit as well as the international circuit.”

Indeed, she points out that the winning design would raise the profile of the local artist in the eyes of local and international audiences as the winning design would appear in the festival program, online, in the press and in social media, becoming the iconic image of the 2012 festival.

“It’s exciting, it’s something that will involve the community and give them exposure,” says Vanderpool. “It’s exciting for people to see their accomplishment throughout journey of BIFF 2012.”

“It’s important to make sure that we keep art alive and make sure that we platform it to an audience that will appreciate the talent that we have in The Bahamas,” she continues. “I feel it’s important to sustain the artists fabric and talent that we have here.”

Besides the exposure winning brings, the artist with the winning design will also receive two All-Access passes to the 2012 BIFF on December 6 – 9.

Posters must include the following information: Bahamas International Film Festival. December 6 -9 2012. www.bintlfilmfest.com. 242-356-5939.

The deadline is April 30th, 2012. The Bahamas international Film Festival will have full ownership of the poster to be used for the purpose of BIFF 2012. Bahamians and Bahamian residents need only apply.

For more information or any questions, e-mail leslie@bintlfilmfest.com.

Sonia Farmer,
The Nassau Guardian
Arts and Culture
Published: Saturday, April 14, 2012