Otherway’s Brooklyn Film Festival rebrand champions ‘Good Screen Time’ over mindless scrolling

The Brooklyn Film Festival champions emerging talent and bold storytelling from its New York base, but in a world increasingly absorbed by phones and endless feeds, the independent festival faced a challenge: how to cut through the noise of mindless scrolling. London and New York-based studio Otherway stepped in to reimagine the festival’s identity with a campaign that reframes cinema as an antidote to passive screen consumption. “Working with clients that are artists themselves creates a collaborative environment where ideas flow and elevate in every conversation,” explains Javier Passerieu, President of Otherway US. The brief called for artistic excellence and high craft without censure, but the team recognised an opportunity to address contemporary viewing habits. “We realised how meaningful watching movies was for all of us, and how much we’ve shared that experience with our family members and friends. Putting that in contrast with the negative impact excessive social media use has on individuals, we realised we found a relevant and meaningful tension.” This insight led to ‘Welcome to Good Screen Time,’ a campaign built around the premise that not all screen experiences are created equal. Rather than position the festival as anti-technology, Otherway embraced digital language whilst championing intentional viewing. The visual approach deliberately borrows from social media platforms, using the familiar downward scroll motion to guide viewers through content. “We brought mobile doom scrolling as the device to tell our story. We pan down just as if you were watching this from your phone in social media, to represent that endless and timeless scroll we are all exposed to,” Passerieu reveals.