Press Release
Hello Spring Feature Film by Lanhua Ma Receives the Bronze A' Design Award in Movie, Video and Animation Design
Lanhua Ma recognized for movie, video and animation design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Bronze A' Design Award in the Movie, Video and Animation Design category for Hello Spring Feature Film by Lanhua Ma. The award was conferred within the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Bronze A' Design Award
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
Regarding Hello Spring Feature Film
Hello Spring is a feature film about a young student and her journey with creative writing. The film runs for 87 minutes and was shot on location in Nanjing, China. Hello Spring combines live action with hand-drawn animation to create an experimental visual language. The story unfolds in three chapters, and each chapter uses a different visual approach. The color palette shifts from desaturated to vibrant as the student finds her own voice. Adapted from a graphic novel, the film uses comedy to look at education in East Asia and invites viewers of all ages to reflect on learning.
About Lanhua Ma
Lanhua Ma is an emerging international award-winning filmmaker and one of China's most notable young female directors. Her short film, There is Honor among Thieves, won the best experimental film at the Chinese First International Film Festival and the Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2019 and went to Tokyo Image Forum Film Festival (Japan) and the Seashorts Festival (Malaysia) in 2020.
Award Record
Lanhua Ma is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.
About the A' Movie, Video and Animation Design Award
The A' Movie Design Award is an international movie design competition recognizing outstanding movie designs by best movie designers and directors worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to movie designers, animation artists, directors and film producers from all countries. Typical entries include feature films, short films, documentaries, animations, music videos and experimental films. The awarded movie designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/movie
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/170683
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/170683
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!170683
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/368952
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Hello Spring Feature Film
- Function
- Feature Film
- Category
- Movie, Video and Animation Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Entertainment and Arts
- Colors
- Sienna, Saddle Brown, Black, Chocolate and Maroon
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Lanhua Ma
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #170683
Credits
- Image Credits
- Image #All Film Stills, Nanjing Bad Student Media, 2024
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The film bridges cultures through universal comedy. Unlike typical children's films, it engages all ages while challenging rigid East Asian education. Director Ma's live-action mixed animation experimental techniques make this Chinese story globally accessible. Adapted from a bestselling graphic novel, it perfectly balances entertainment with meaningful social commentary on educational reform.
- Inspiration
- This film emerged from the director's childhood struggle with writing despite having a father who was a renowned composition educator. The narrative transforms this personal journey into artistic expression, blending Eastern educational philosophy with Western filmmaking techniques. Research into pedagogical approaches across cultures informed the storytelling, offering authentic insight into educational reforms happening in contemporary China while creating a universally resonant story.
- Research
- This study explored how narrative film and visual design can effectively express educational themes. Through analysis of 21 Asian educational films' visual language, 40 color scheme experiments, and 15 focus group discussions, we established an aesthetic framework that resonates with audiences. Research demonstrated that specific color transitions (from monochromatic to saturated) can symbolically reflect a student's creative awakening, while non-linear narrative structures better represent the internal logic of the creative process. The combination of experimental montage techniques with traditional cinematography balanced artistic expression with audience accessibility.
- Challenge
- Our most significant obstacles were severe budget limitations and pandemic restrictions that prevented large-scale shooting. We transformed these constraints into creative opportunities by developing a minimalist visual language that focused on intimate character moments rather than expensive set pieces. The pandemic's isolation inspired our narrative structure, with separated spaces becoming a storytelling device reflecting the protagonist's internal journey. We embraced lightweight production methods, filming with skeleton crews in naturally lit environments.
- Realization and Technology
- Shot on-location in Nanjing using hybrid cinematography techniques that blend traditional narrative filmmaking with hand-drawn animation, which uses experimental visual language. The production employed stylized color grading to enhance comedic elements while maintaining emotional authenticity. It utilized non-linear editing structures to mirror the creative writing process central to the story. Sound design incorporates subtle cultural motifs without alienating international audiences. Post-production leveraged cross-cultural consultation to ensure subtitling captures linguistic nuances essential to the screenplay's comedic timing.
- Operation and Interaction
- The film unfolds through three distinct chapters following a young student's writing journey, each marked by a unique visual approach. As she progresses, the film's palette transforms from desaturated to vibrant, mirroring her creative awakening. Humor builds through recurring motifs that viewers can anticipate and enjoy. The narrative invites the audience to reflect on their own educational experiences, creating an emotional connection that transcends cultural barriers while delivering a universal story about finding one's voice.
- Project Duration and Location
- Filming between 2022 and 2023, Nanjing, China
- Specifications
- Feature film: 87 minutes runtime Format: Digital cinema package (DCP), 4:3 and 2.35:1 aspect ratio.Resolution: 2K, Delivery formats: DCP, ProRes 4444, H.264
- Keywords
- Coming-of-age, Chinese education, Visual storytelling, Creative awakening, Color symbolism, Narrative filmmaking, Student expression, Cultural identity, Educational philosophy
