New NFB animation amongst competing works at TIFF
Skwigly
The National Film Board of Canada returns to the Toronto International Film Festival this September with seven films including an animation world premiere for award-winning animator Howie Shia.
Toronto-based Shia (Flutter) drew on events in the life of his Taiwanese grandfather to create the animated short BAM, a modern adaptation of the myth of Hercules.
The film, Shia’s fifth with the NFB, tells the story of a young boxer struggling to reconcile his shy, introspective nature with his bouts of violent anger, endeavouring to determine where this rage comes from – be it psychological, environmental or something altogether more primordial.
With music by Leo Shia (a.k.a. LEO37) and composer Tim Shia (both brothers of the director), the film’s reflections on the complexities of masculine identity draws from the experience of his Taiwanese grandfather, who was a top-ranking police official as well as an acclaimed calligrapher and poet.
The film is produced by Maral Mohammadian and Michael Fukushima as executive producer for the NFB’s Animation Studio.
Other animated shorts included at this year’s TIFF include new work from Joël Vaudreuil (The Magnificent Life Underwater) and Theodore Ushev (The Sleepwalker)
The Toronto International Film Festival takes place this September 10th–20th. You can view the full TIFF lineup at tiff.net