KUALA LUMPUR, 4 AUGUST 2009 – A Malaysian MSC Status company, Shock3D!, has picked up an award for best planning at the 8th Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival Promotion Plan Competition (SPP).
MSC (Multimedia Supercorridor) Status company Shock3D!, which created the animation ‘Alamaya: Garden of Beautiful Creatures’, was the only foreign winner at the international animation festival, according to Malaysian government agency Multimedia Development Corporation’s (MDeC’s) vice president, Creative Multimedia Policy, Kamil Othman.
“The company’s ‘Alamaya’ managed to stand out among other entries received from international studios from Japan, France, Italy, United States, Taiwan, India, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, etc.,’ said Othman. “This was the fourth consecutive year that MDeC), the government agency for Malaysia’s ICT initiative, helped to submit Malaysian animation entries to SPP. Among the past Malaysian animations that have made it to SPP was ‘Saladin’, which emerged as the winner for Best Technology at the 5th SPP Competition, three years ago.”
He said ‘Alamaya’ was among the two Malaysian finalists—the other finalist: ‘Zoorocco’ by Tripod Entertainment—from a pool of 80 more entries this year and was declared winner for the Best Planning Award by an international panel, which included Mark Taylor, vice president for Nickelodeon; Andrew Beecham, senior vice president for PBS Kids; Richard Rowe, acquisition executive for Cartoon Network Europe; Nam Han-Kil, producer for EBS; and Kim Il-Hwan, executive director for Stonebridge Capital Investment.
Humble studio in Kuala Lumpur
“Everyone talks about Korean, Japanese and American animation giants; at this festival, we have proven that Malaysia has the potential to match their quality standards,” Othman said.
“‘Alamaya, a 90-minute 3D feature animation, was produced locally by Malaysian talents in a humble studio in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Kuala Lumpur,” said Shock3D! creative director, Eugene Foo. “We employ 26 highly skilled local animators and are expected to expand the pool to about 50 staff by 2010.”
The film, which tells of a local child living in the suburbs of Petaling Jaya who is led into a fantasy world, is due to be released in the first quarter of 2011 in Malaysian theatres, said Foo.
Foo added that the company’s business development director, Syed Hezri, and co-scriptwriter, Keeta Brennan, saw the commercial viability of the characters. “Without the tremendous support and commitment of MDeC and the Malaysian government’s e-Content Grant from the ministry of science, technology and innovation (MOSTI), ‘Alamaya’ may not have had the right chance to fully unfold its leading-edge potential in its digital animation technologies and skills in the competitive global industry.”
According to MDeC manager, entertainment and media specialist, Adam Ham, said: “Since Malaysia started to capture awards in South Korea, we have been swamped with enquiries from South Korea and other foreign partners, who are keen in collaborating with Malaysian producers.”
“The most gratifying element is that the ability to open up the minds of the global creative community to the potential of what Malaysia has as a creative hub,” said Ham. “It is now time to move ahead and make sure ‘Alamaya’ gets off the ground as a viable project that will open doors for Malaysian resources such as talents, facilities and services.”
“This good news enhances Malaysia’s opportunity in the global digital content industry, especially as we prepare for the upcoming world’s largest content market—MIPCOM [International Film and Programme Market for Television, Video, Cable and Satellite] in Cannes, France, to be held on 3–9 October 2009, where ‘Alamaya’ will be up and available for pre-sale to cinemas, distributors, licensors, and broadcasters,” said Ham.
