Arrival
2016
Denis Villeneuve
Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
I used to design posters and banners for school events with a friend, many years ago. We became fairly good at it, although nowhere near enough to pursue it professionally.
Many years after leaving school my love for poster design was rekindled and this was the first one in a series I designed within the space of a few weeks. It’s quite basic and I’m not happy with how it turned out, but I made some good ones after this.
I chose Arrival because it’s a film I love. I thought it expertly navigated a deeply personal story while grounding it in science. Ted Chiang’s short story which the film is based on also resonated with me strongly. The last scene from the film, with Max Richter’s On The Nature of Daylight playing, is etched permanently in my mind.
I wish I had taken a bit more time to flesh out a better poster for this film. I may revisit this; the film deserves it.