A theatre in a box
It’s family-friendly… accessible to all… and absolutely free!
Nope, it’s not a park. It’s modular, mobile and looks like a photo booth, but there’s no slot for your toonies. It’s the Nur Box Theatre – a miniature theatre that can be positioned in public and private spaces across the city. It features programming that is dynamic, thought-provoking, family-friendly and curated every month by local filmmakers, non-profit artists, media organizations, and other special guests.
Ramin Eshranghi-Yazdi, a filmmaker and owner of Nur Films, is the brainchild and impetus behind this theatre. His sole purpose in creating these venues was to provide Calgarians the opportunity to view locally- and internationally-produced works of film, video, and media art, which might otherwise be inaccessible to the general public. And he’s very pleased to be calling the Calgary Public Library home for the next few months.
“The library is a perfect partner and location for Nur Box” Ramin says, “A safe public space where everyone, young and old, comes to explore, expand, and discover.”
The box has also resided at the the Olympic Oval and at the Calgary Folk Festival. Ramin’s ultimate goal is to have ten boxes out in the community so he is currently looking for sponsorships to help make this possible.
We used the “O” in the name to represent the physical venue for viewing the films – the screen and the modular structure itself. It also serves as a vehicle to project patterns and imagery onto, so that the logo mirrors the dynamic and always changing nature of the content within the booths. And this vibrancy becomes very apparent when you step inside a box to watch a film or when you check out the website. When you load the site, you are flooded with imagery reminiscent of rapid channel switching on a television. All pages carry on the simple theme of demure backgrounds and clean lines. Navigation is uncomplicated and icon-based, which emphasizes the idea that this brand is based on the visual experience. Finally, both this site and other extensions of the brand feature the raw wood pattern to connect with the material of the theatre box.