Key Visuals | Campaign Creation & Production | Animation
Graphic Design
Beyond the Fame
The 2024 Asian World Film Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary of uplifting Asian cinema and culture. This year’s theme of Heritage is an invitation to reflect on the achievements of filmmakers and movie stars of the past. Their work and dedication to the craft is an inheritance passed on to cinema visionaries today.
Innovation in cinema does not exist in a vacuum. To create art that endures, one must understand the past, the challenges and victories that have led to this moment. Inspired by the career of actress Anna May Wong and the artistic composition of filmmaking itself, Fifth Atrium presents “Beyond the Frame,” a visual design project that celebrates the complexity of Asian art and heritage.
It begins with a single frame and the question of how to fill it. Filmmakers, actors, and visual artists are familiar with the urge to answer this burning question. With careful composition, the image formed by a single frame can take on a life of its own and live in perpetuity in the minds of its audience. By stringing together a single frame with another, an entire narrative can be built.
It is not until we go beyond the frame, however, beyond what is immediately presented, that true meaning can be made. When we consider not just the immediate but the historical context of a film or actor, our understanding and appreciation deepens.
Throughout Anna May Wong’s career, her undeniable gravitas and masterful use of facial expressions left lasting impressions on Hollywood and beyond. Although her stardom was undeniable, her trajectory toward it was not easy.
Wong navigated the film industry in a time when Asian stars were few and far between, and the roles available to them were rife with stereotypes. Despite these obstacles and discrimination, she was a composer, breathing life and nuance into these roles with her powerful performances.
Font & Color
The color palette for this project draws inspiration from the foundational colors upon which other colors are formed. Black and white depictions of Anna May Wong and the snow leopard allude to the early days of film. The image stands on its own as a dramatic tribute to the power and elegance of its subjects.
This central image is reimagined in different contexts to form new images. Color emerges. The slightly muted red, blue, green, and yellow juxtapose the monochrome of Wong and the snow leopard. Even with the introduction of color, the original idea is never lost. Wong’s timeless, striking gaze persists through each variation.
The elegant typography that anchors the 10th-anniversary visual design for AWFF pays respect to Wong’s enduring legacy. The golden tone evokes the Golden Age of Hollywood and the golden resilience of Asian cinema; the elongated strokes, flowing and graceful, echo the nuanced artistry Wong displayed on screen.
The typography dances between the intense and the delicate. Its clean, minimalist shapes evoke both timelessness and modernity. The dynamic nature of the font mirrors Wong’s ability to imbue her performances with soul. She deftly navigated roles, skillfully moving between displays of power and moments of tenderness with arresting physical expressions and emotional depth. Her legacy continues to this day as the first Asian American actress to achieve international fame.
Asian cinema contains multitudes. It emerges from an illustrious yet difficult past and is ever-changing, ever-evolving to reflect the world around it. In this milestone year for AWFF, we aimed to capture the spirit of the organization: to celebrate a luminous history and envision a brilliant future for Asian storytelling in cinema.
As a film is created, its frames may be strung together, spliced apart, pieced together again. Each change is an opportunity to create anew.
In the key art for this project, we have composed an homage to Wong’s strength overlaid with AWFF’s signature symbol of the snow leopard. Wong’s face and the snow leopard remain distinct, yet they combine to create a cohesive new image.
The snow leopard can be a fierce predator. It can also be gentle and lethargic. Although the Asian woman is much more than the “Dragon Lady” stereotype that once plagued Hollywood, perhaps there is a small kernel of truth in every stereotype: Indeed, she is powerful and indeed, she commands respect.
There is so much more beyond the frame. We seize the opportunity to reimagine, recontextualize, and reinterpret what is before us.
