November 1, 2017

The best and brightest walked the red carpet at last week's NWT Film Gala, including Mikey McBryan, Kirstin Carthew, Jen Walden, Leela Gilday, and PJ Marcellino, to name a few. As the lights dimmed and footage flashed across the big screen, gala guests got the first glimpse of the new NWT Film brand.

For NWT Film Intern, Alinar Dapilos, it was a bittersweet moment. He was across the Atlantic Ocean when the logo he had spent months helping to finess, made its public debut.

Building a Brand

When Alinar first made the move from summer student to Film Intern with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI), he didn’t expect that he’d be helping to design a logo that would represent the territory’s burgeoning film industry to the world.

His involvement began as he helped pull together the application for funding from CanNor. He quickly discovered that his Fine Arts degree, and major in New Media, provided him with a skillset that was in high demand in the Department. During the application process, he came up with preliminary concepts for the brand and logo.

“We worked with Outcrop to help develop the brand and because I had the software, it was really easy for my supervisor and I to give input and move things along faster, and the next thing I knew, the final logo was designed by me,” Alinar says.

Meaning Behind the Design

“The NWT is known

for the aurora and it made the most sense to me to incorporate this element with a film strip, the challenge was getting it right and not looking too much like clip art,” Alinar explains.  

“We wanted the logo to reflect the NWT as a whole, so the colours took inspiration from not just the aurora but also the landscapes and the arctic. The five NWT regions are represented by the five frames in the film strip.”

Lasting Impression

Alinar’s plate has been full since he began with the Department. In addition to developing a social media strategy for the commission, he was behind the creation of the Sahtu Region’s first ever sizzle reel.

For Alinar, hearing “this isn’t something we’ve dealt with before” from his colleagues is a sign that the commission is charting new territory, being innovative and setting new standards. It’s this enthusiasm, initiative, and passion that has made Alinar an essential part of the ITI team.

In addition to leaving a lasting impression on his colleagues, he has literally left a mark on the NWT Film Commission.