JEDDAH — Barajoun Entertainment, a Dubai-based animation and visual effects studio, today announced award-winning British actor, director, and voice artist Ian McShane's involvement in Bilal, a historical drama about real-life African hero and leader Bilal bin Rabah. A veteran voice actor, McShane will bring to life Umayya, a merciless merchant who abducts and enslaves Bilal and his sister. McShane's repertoire of recent projects in TV, animation and live action films has shaped his emergence as Hollywood's go-to villain. Among his notable successes, McShane has voiced versatile and malevolent characters including Blackbeard from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Ti Lung in Kung Fu Panda. Ayman Jamal, executive producer of Bilal, said, “McShane has added a unique complexity to the character of Umayya, a dynamic villain with a huge ego. His passion for fantasy-based films and intricate characters positioned him as the ideal actor for the role of Umayya. He has just completed the recording for his role in Los Angeles last week.” He added: “We are pleased to have talent such as McShane and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on board. Bilal is a passion project, not just a film. Recruiting talented voice actors capable of adopting multifaceted characters is one of the ways we have succeeded in re-imagining an ancient heroic journey.” Produced by Barajoun Entertainment, Bilal follows an inspirational story of one of Africa and Arabia's most prominent leaders over four transformative stages of his life. A remarkable account of faith, hope and self-discovery, Bilal traces the story of a hero who braves oppression, greed and injustice to become a noble leader and defender of freedom and equality. Barajoun Entertainment is one of the first Dubai-based studios to produce an international animation film. Conveying universal values and sentiments that transcend race, language, and culture, the film is anticipated to inspire and find high resonance with target audiences when released at the end of 2015. Since the online release of the film's teaser trailer in February 2015, Bilal has achieved over 1.6 million views worldwide. — SG
