KUALA LUMPUR: Dubbed the nation’s pioneer of animation, Hassan Abd Muthalib has been involved in the country’s film art for 50 years.
He directed the popular animated Sang Kancil series and Silat Legenda, Malaysia’s first animated feature film with the knowledge of art he learnt on his own.
Besides wearing many hats as a painter, designer and filmmaker, he is recognised as the Father of Animation and the first Malaysian pioneer of animation by the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore.
Hassan is also a film historian and film critic. His writing has appeared in many books andacademic journals abroad.
His book, 'Malaysian Cinema In A Bottle', published in 2013, revolves around the history and analysis of Malaysian cinemas from the first movie show in 1897 till 2013.
He conducted various film and animation workshops throughout the country on visual story development and storytelling.
Hassan has also been appointed as a jury member for numerous local and international film festivals.
For all his achievements and contributions to the Malaysian creative industry, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) awarded him an Honorary Masters in Creative Technology where he was an Artist-in-Residence.
The animation professional pioneer published his latest book "From Mouse Deer to Mouse: 70 Years of Malaysian animation" this year.
For the first time ever, he has encapsulated Malaysian animation history spanning the last seventy years or so into a book.
The book provides chronicling of animation history while documenting the achievements, trials, tribulations and sacrifices of those involved in the animation industry from 1946 right up to the present.