Saudi Film Days
CLIENT: KING ABDULAZIZ CENTER FOR WORLD CULTURE, ITHRA
PROJECT: BRAND & COMMUNICATION STRATEGY, DESIGN, PRODUCTION
SECTOR: MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
LOCATION: UNITED STATES + SAUDI ARABIA
-
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been going through major shifts in its society and culture; part of which includes building an entirely new and bold creative industry and cultivating its own wealth of local talent and production capabilities. With a history of being closed off to tourism and creative industries - even having a ban on cinema for decades - Saudi Film Days was a breakthrough initiative to turn the world's attention to Saudi's future and its desire to be more engaged with the international film community. The international debut of 12 Saudi filmmakers and their short films kicking off with screenings in Paramount Studios and DTLA, was a historical event in the film industry that we take pride in being selected as their creative partners.
-
We developed a brand identity system that revolved around three key messages; 1) Acknowledgement and appreciation for the rich history of the Kingdom, 2) Inspiring a new era for creativity that would rise in the Kingdom, and 3) Becoming a part of the international film industry in the most sophisticated way possible.
We helped bridge a cultural gap and reframe negative public perception of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to foster connection between Hollywood and the emerging creative community of the KSA media & film industry.
SCOPE OF WORK
Strategy, Messaging, Positioning
Brand & Identity Design
Cinematic Title Design
Event Styling & Production
Web Design & Development
Book Design & Production
Digital Invitation Design
Digital & Print Ad Design
Press Release Copy Editing
Branded Gifts & Promotional Merchandise
Custom Award Design & Production
DESIGNING A LOGO FOR A HISTORICAL DEBUT EVENT
Designing for this special event meant creating an iconic logo that would captivate a number of different demographics & offend none. We needed it to be taken seriously by the Hollywood Entertainment Industry Executives & PR, feel approachable to American filmgoers, make Saudi Film Producers & Directors feel proud, & of course, be acceptable by the General Entertainment Authority of the Kingdom without falling into cliches that diminish their sense of self. *No pressure!
Using a geographical icon to help Americans quickly identify Saudi was important. The epic sand dunes paid tribute to the early origins of the Kingdom. From these deserts, vast cities were built, and now a new film industry will be carved out of this land. The sun rising above the dunes symbolize what we coined as, "a new dawn for filmmaking” rising in the Kingdom. Our custom font was inspired by the original Saudi emblem which uses swords. These weapons, once used in battle, now to be used in creativity. Lastly, the golden color symbolizes the solid wealth of talent Saudi has to offer in the to the international film and entertainment industry. All together, we acknowledge history while also looking to the future.
BRAND STYLE GUIDE
As with all projects we provide a Brand Style Guide for the main components of the identity - providing details for the logo usage, typography, fonts, colors, and patterns to ensure cohesive application across all touchpoints.
CINEMATIC OPENER
Saudi Film Days was to showcase two main screening events, a private screening at Paramount Studios and a public screening at The Ace Theater. The client desired a cinematic title opener that was both artistic and bold. We were able to capture this by producing original scoring, sound design and vocals that told the story of the logo as it came together visually.
BOOK DESIGN & PRINT PRODUCTION
To commemorate this historical event in the film community, our client wanted to offer a limited edition book that featured the 12 Saudi Directors participating in the event. The book shared the insightful opinions of each of the directors regarding key questions on the newly developing industry in their country. The book itself was softbound with luxury satin paper, gold foil stamp on the cover, as well as a limited print for VIP guests, embellished with hand-painted gold edges.
DIGITAL ADVERTISING
We created several collections of digital and print ads which were used across Google, social media, websites, blogs, and industry publications like the Hollywood Reporter. As a support to the PR agency, Rogers & Cowan, we also served as additional copy writing editors to help set the voice in press releases in a culturally sensitive manner.
WEBSITE
A last minute request to design & develop a website was met with swift solutions that allowed us to launch while still adding new information daily. The website functioned to share film trailers, promote the event, collect email submissions, and allow guests to reserve tickets.
The client wanted the website active as soon as possible but was also experiencing delays on their end receiving the images and information we needed to complete the site. We resolved this by designing branded placeholders so that the site could be live and under construction at the same time to meet their needs. As new content was loaded it gave the marketing & PR team good reason for further outreach.
EVENT DESIGN
Traditional arab hospitality for a Hollywood Guestlist. It was important to our key messaging that the event properly represent the traditions and culture of Saudi Arabia, but not in any stereotypical ways that have been misrepresented in the past within the entertainment industry. We made sure that all of our ideas were supported by proper research and reason and inspired by creative elements of the Kingdom such as geometric patterns, lighting, calligraphy, and rich textures and fabrics. However, to also remain contemporary and fuse cinema and Hollywood into the theme, we also added elements from "Old Hollywood" - from the art deco era, trending in fashion and decor, and commonly used for industry events.
EVENT THEME & DECOR GUIDE
Looking to classic and modern inspirations in both California and Saudi Arabia cultures, landscapes, textiles, photography and more, we blended together an ambience and experience that met the moment and various demographics to please.
AWARDS & SWAG
