(July 20, 2016, Toronto, ON) This Saturday, July 23, the UNITY Festival’s graffiti wall at Yonge-Dundas Square will be home to the National Film Board of Canada’s multi-disciplinary installation THE BAM WALL, which combines film and live graffiti art inspired by acclaimed Toronto animator Howie Shia’s NFB short BAM.
Shia will be on-hand for the one-day event, which features local graffiti artists painting onto stills from BAM from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., followed by a free public screening of the film beginning at 8 p.m.
BAM will also begin streaming free-of-charge online at NFB.ca starting today, July 20.
A study in rage, BAM tells the story of an unassuming young boxer struggling to understand the disturbing consequences of his explosive temper. A dark, urban soundtrack combines with gritty, hand-drawn animation to create a brutal portrait of a classical hero floundering in a modern city haunted by primordial gods.
Howie’s previous work includes the 2006 NFB short Flutter, the first work from outside Asia to receive the prestigious Open Entries Grand Prize at the Tokyo Anime Awards. Produced by Maral Mohammadian and Michael Fukushima for the NFB’s Oscar-winning Animation Studio, BAM was one of the first NFB films produced entirely in 4K Ultra HD. The five-minute short also features the talents of Howie’s brothers, hip-hop artist Leo Shia (a.k.a. LEO37) and composer Tim Shia, who composed the film’s musical score and did the sound edit.
BAM premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Animated Short at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards.
Organized by UNITY Charity, the UNITY Festival (July 20–23) uses the arts to empower youth with the confidence and skills for success.
