Interest

Winning Akira Book Cover Design

The British Film Institute website has put up the winning cover design for its upcoming 'BFI Film Classic' book on Katsuhiro Ōtomo's Akira, to be published by Palgrave Macmillan. The winner is Samanatha Holmlund, a BA illustration student at Falmouth University.

The BFI commented that Holmlund's "striking cover captures the dynamism and atmosphere of the film, but also reflects her own unique take on it." Holmlund herself comments, "Compared with other animations of the time, Akira had so much more detail, not just in the storytelling but also in the animation itself. The movements and angles were more dynamic and the colours were so striking. With my design I really wanted to use these techniques to capture the feel of the film." She says that she is especially inspired by Japanese woodblock prints.

Two other 'highly commended' entries can be seen at the link above. Entrants had been asked to 'Interpret the themes, characters, locations or motifs of the film to create a striking and original artwork.'

The Akira book will be published in October 2014, to coincide with a 'major BFI Science Fiction season.' It is written by Michelle Le Blanc and Colin Odell, whose previous books include Anime and Studio Ghibli, both published by Kamera Books.

The 'BFI Film Classics' is a long-running series of books, usually only around 100 pages long, each of which looks at a landmark cinema film.