Exclusive: creatives reinterpret iconic film posters for Summer Screen Prints

Date
3 August 2017
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Hattie Stewart: Cruel Intentions

Summer Screen Prints, in collaboration with Print Club London, has returned to Somerset House for its fifth edition. Running until 23 August 2017, the exhibition will showcase original film poster artworks inspired by the Film4 Summer Screen programme.

This year is set to be “the most extensive to date” with limited-edition film prints available from 20 emerging and international artists. Having responded to a moment, theme, character or quote from their favourite film in the season, each poster shows a variety of styles and interpretations, with each print available to purchase on the site.

Joe Cruz illustrated a “pivotal” moment in this year’s Best Picture Oscar winner Moonlight, alongside Hattie Stewart who depicted an “bold and striking” interpretation of Cruel intentions. Other artists include Peter Strain, Steve Wilson, Rose Electra Harris, Poppy Chancellor, Joe Wilson, RYCA, Rozalina Burkova, Joseph Vass, Eleesha Nandhra, Cassandra Yap.

Alongside the exhibition, there will also be a workshop taking place on 12 August with collective OOMK – attendees will be able to design and screen print covers for their own zine.

We caught up with a handful of the artists to find out more about how they chose each film and the inspiration behind their creations.

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Joe Cruz: Moonlight

Joe Cruz

“I wanted to capture the love, beauty and tenderness of this moment. My focus was not to capture the whole film in one poster. This did not enter my mind. I wanted to create a beautiful moment that celebrates love and acceptance.”

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Peter Strain: The Omen

Peter Strain

“I’m a huge fan of horror and thriller films, and when they’re done right they make such effective cinema. The Omen is one of the few horror films that transcends the genre and stands on its own feet as a beautifully crafted film. What could have been a fairly general, straightforward horror film is elevated by the attention to detail by Richard Donner and that score from Jerry Goldsmith. I love to mix type with portraiture, and this film contains a lot of striking imagery and bold lyric (in the form of prophecies) so it was a good fit.”

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Steve Wilson: All the President’s Men

Steve Wilson

“I wanted to depict the corruption of the US government under Nixon in as simple a way as possible. The main element of the Watergate scandal was Nixon recording conversations, so the two elements I combined to represent the story were the US flag and one of the tape reels from the 1970s. The poster shows the stripes of the flag becoming disarranged due to the tape so it’s symbolic of the story. I like the US flag as an image so once I was given that film I knew straight away that I would base the design around it somehow.”

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Rose Electra Harris: Bhaji On The Beach

Rose Electra Harris

“I was really excited when I got this year’s list of Film4 Summer Screen movies – not least as there were a few on there that I’d never heard of. Bhaji on the Beach, which is about a group of Indian women from Birmingham on a trip to Blackpool, was one of them. Having looked it up, I immediately had three clear designs I wanted to try, in part inspired by India, and in part by the energy and fun of Blackpool. Having lived and worked in India for a while in 2011, which is where lots of the colour and patterns in my work stem from, the film seemed like a natural choice for me. Blackpool, meanwhile, with its donkey rides and fairgrounds, is a place of sweet, simple pleasures. I really wanted to celebrate these elements in my work.”

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Poppy Chancellor: The Philadelphia Story

Poppy Chancellor

“I’m obsessed with the main character in The Philadelphia Story, played by Catherine Hepburn. I wanted to use one of her famous quotes from the film. I’m a total romantic so when she talks about being loved, I wanted to show her boldness and the romance of what she’s saying.”

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Joe Wilson: My Neighbour Totoro

Joe Wilson

“I was gifted the wonderful Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro, as this is a film predominantly aimed at kids (and big kids!) and I wanted the poster to reflect the fun, adventure and magic of the film. I went for a slight detour from my usual approach and adopted a bright pink and blue colour scheme. I also wanted the poster to be as fun as I could make it and hopefully end up with an engaging poster for kids and adults alike.”

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RYCA: Jaws

RYCA

“I wanted to create an old style pub sign to remove the quote from the context of the film and become a metaphor on its own. I wanted to pick a stand-out quote; one that can only be Jaws. It is also a metaphor for the workplace or home when you’re about to face a big task. I added the mouth and teeth to remind everyone it’s about a great white shark.”

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Rozalina Burkova: In Bruges

Rozalina Burkova

“The absurdity of professional assassins also being best friends and holding themselves up to very high moral standards. I wanted it to be a simple, bold composition at first sight but tried to include a few subtle hints about the story that you notice at a closer look. For example, each man’s face shows a different emotion. Even though they are pointing guns at each other, their other hand lays on the next guy’s shoulder, indicating their friendship.”

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Joseph Vass: Moonlight

Joseph Vass

“My poster takes inspiration from a truly moving scene in the film: two long lost lovers are reunited in an American diner, with the smooth tones of Barbara Lewis playing from a jukebox. Moonlight is such a visually stimulating film throughout, particularly the use of colour to depict mood. This was something I hoped to convey in my print, creating a rich typographic tapestry, using lyrics from the soundtrack and icons from the diner scene. I’m also a big lover of hand painted signs, which I wanted to combine with the visual stimuli of the jukebox and the original vinyl sleeve of Hello Stranger, the song playing in the scene.”

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Aleesha Nandhra: My Neighbour Totoro

Aleesha Nandhra

“I was influenced by the very ‘pop culture’ image of Totoro waiting with an umbrella at the bus stop. I knew I wanted to include the umbrella in there somewhere, but I also wanted to put a fun twist on it using the very graphic shapes of the characters in the film. I think I managed to depict the essence of the whole film by choosing a moment that stood out to me, but then using an object as a vehicle for the idea, as opposed to drawing out the scene as it happened. The umbrella echoes Totoro’s shape, and umbrellas are seen all throughout the film.” 

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Cassandra Yap: Cruel Intentions

Cassandra Yap

“The antithesis to bright young teen films, _Cruel Intentions_ is a warped tragic romance of secrets, seduction, betrayal and that famous kiss, all summed up in one lip-biting expression with skull braces for a dark twist. I wanted to capture the movie’s sexy undercurrent in my piece but also add my dark twist, so the lip biting seemed perfect.”

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About the Author

Ayla Angelos

Ayla is a London-based freelance writer, editor and consultant specialising in art, photography, design and culture. After joining It’s Nice That in 2017 as editorial assistant, she was interim online editor in 2022/2023 and continues to work with us on a freelance basis. She has written for i-D, Dazed, AnOther, WePresent, Port, Elephant and more, and she is also the managing editor of design magazine Anima. 

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