Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival Signature Image Program

The annual signature image is used on marketing materials for Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival which includes posters (both in Banff and in over 40 countries on the World Tour), banners, website (as well as World Tour host sites), and any marketing materials including brochures, programs, and their Festival/World Tour magazine. They are now looking for an image to represent the 2026 Festival and the 2026-2027 World Tour!

Theme

• The signature image reflects their mountain-themed Festival.

Funding Information

• They offer a payment of $3000 (CAD) for the selected image.

What They’re Looking for?

• Concept: They look for an image that evokes passion and energy, has a dynamic and enticing landscape and/or features a mountain activity.
• Orientation: The image must work well both vertically and horizontally. Most of their marketing materials are vertical (posters, banners, postcards, ads, etc.), but for web and video production, a horizontal orientation is preferred. Many of their winners have been horizontal originals that crop well vertically for marketing materials.
• Clean: They incorporate the placement of numerous sponsor logos, so they are looking for images where these can be easily incorporated.
• Exposure: Ideally, they would like an image that hasn’t already appeared in a national ad campaign or featured on a cover of a major magazine. However, if your image has already been used in other major publications/campaigns, please let them know just so they know it’s history and previous use.
• Free of commercial elements: They want an image without prominent commercial elements such as clearly visible logos.

Eligibility Criteria

• Open to professional photographers only!
• Photos can be taken from anywhere in the world.
• The photographer also receives far-reaching exposure to their work, and the chosen image will be featured prominently on their website along with the winner’s biography, plus the opportunity to attend screenings and events at the Festival.
• Finalists will be contacted (approx. 4-5 top finalists) to make sure a final high res copy is available should they be selected.

Application Requirements

• Technical Requirements:
  • JPG files only.
  • File size for initial entry:
    • Between 1 MB (minimum) – 3 MB (maximum) per image.
• Final file size:
  • If selected as a finalist, you will be asked for higher resolution images by the end of June.
  • The photographer of the chosen/winning image will be asked to provide a high-resolution RAW or TIFF file.
  • The image needs to be used in large formats sizes such as tall banners, 11 x 17 posters and larger, therefore the final image will need to be these approximate sizes:
  • Vertical – 300 dpi at 18 inches x 24 inches or larger
  • Horizontal – 300 dpi at 24 inches x 18 inches or larger

For more information, visit Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.