Press Release
Maldivian Fishermen Video by Aishath Naajila Receives the Silver A' Design Award in Movie, Video and Animation Design
Aishath Naajila of Naj recognized for movie, video and animation design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 24, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Maldivian Fishermen Video by Aishath Naajila of Naj, designed for Two Thousand Isles, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Movie, Video and Animation Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached 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 Silver A' Design Award
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
About Maldivian Fishermen Video
The film Maldivian Fishermen features traditional single pole and line fishing of tuna in the Maldives, a sustainable method which is often described as the lifeblood of the island nation. For generations, tuna has been a staple food that supports daily life across the islands. Adopting a storytelling approach with cinematic visuals and immersive sound design, the project captures skilled fishermen working in a coordinated rhythm aboard a traditional Dhonis, bringing the experience to a global stage.
About Aishath Naajila
Naj is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist, cinematographer, and director from the Maldives, working across photography, videography, and visual storytelling. Since beginning her practice at the age of 16, she has developed her approach through independent study and experimentation. Her work focuses on narrative, culture, and lived experience, combining visual and auditory elements in multidisciplinary projects, including *Two Thousand Isles*, which explores local island life and culture, history and hidden stories, and environmental and social change across the atolls.
About Naj
Creative visual storytelling company working across photography, cinematography, and brand campaigns for local and international clients. Notable projects include Two Thousand Isles, which documents island life, culture, and community stories in the Maldi
Award Record
Aishath Naajila of Naj 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://dezigners.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://dezigners.org/183833
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/183833
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!183833
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/382292
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.najphotos.com/
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
- Maldivian Fishermen Video
- Function
- Video
- Category
- Movie, Video and Animation Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Entertainment and Arts
- Colors
- Black, Dark Slate Gray, Burly Wood, Tan and Wheat
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Two Thousand Isles
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Aishath Naajila
- Country
- Maldives
- Brand
- Naj
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #183833
Credits
- Image Credits
- Videography & Photography: Aishath Naajila
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- This is an independently produced documentary visual project capturing the traditional pole-and-line fishing practice in the Maldives. Created during COVID-19 while in isolation at sea, it combines cinematography, sound design, and immersive storytelling. Its strength lies in its authenticity, produced within real conditions of isolation, offering an intimate, unfiltered portrayal of Maldivian fishermen. The work stands out for its experiential approach, blending heritage, resilience, and cinematic realism.
- Inspiration
- Inspired by a lifelong curiosity about fishing in the Maldives, the project evolved through Two Thousand Isles, where travel deepened an interest in storytelling and lived experience. While learning freediving, the filmmaker joined an eight-day trip on a local boat, living at sea, waking before dawn and at midnight, eating the catch, and observing the ocean’s food chain in motion.
- Research
- Documentary visual research on sustainable pole-and-line fishing in the Maldives. Field-based observation and immersive filming were conducted over 8 days in March 2020 aboard a local fishing vessel during the COVID-19 period. Data was collected through photography, film, aerial, and underwater footage. Participants included local fishermen. The results highlight ecological balance, resilience, and coordination. The impact emphasizes cultural preservation and awareness of sustainable fishing practices.
- Challenge
- The project faced logistical constraints, including limited equipment, a single drone battery requiring precise planning, and long waits for unpredictable moments at sea. The first four days saw no catch due to bait shortages, and underwater footage relied solely on a GoPro. Adapting strategically, key moments were captured to form an authentic narrative of the fishermen’s practice and the ocean’s food chain.
- Realization and Technology
- Filmed on a Sony A7 III with 35mm, 85mm, and 70–200mm lenses, with aerials via DJI Phantom 4 and underwater footage on a GoPro during freediving, the project was produced independently,covering planning, real-time filming, editing, sound design, and colour grading. An unobtrusive approach allowed fishermen to work naturally, ensuring an authentic, unstaged portrayal without direction.
- Operation and Interaction
- Operated on a traditional pole-and-line dhoni, the method relies on coordinated teamwork and timing rather than machinery. Fishermen attract skipjack tuna with live bait, triggering a feeding response where fish are hooked individually. Key moments, bait release, surface frenzy, precise catching, transform ocean activity into a sustainable harvest, reducing bycatch and ensuring quality, rooted in skill, patience, and harmony with marine life.
- Project Duration and Location
- Filmed over eight days aboard a fishing vessel in March 2020, during the early stages of COVID-19, the project was later completed with full post-production, editing, sound design, and colour grading, independently carried out later that year.
- Specifications
- Shot aboard a 100-foot pole-and-line fishing dhoni, the project documents Maldivian fishermen working at sea with precise, coordinated movements resembling a disciplined system. Through aerial perspectives, it captures the ocean’s food chain in motion, sharks, skipjack tuna, and fishermen, framing these moments to reflect the deep connection between this traditional practice and the Maldives’ identity and way of life.
- Keywords
- sustainable, fishing, pole and line, Maldives, tuna, ocean, documentry
