Animex arrives in Malaysia

Teesside University’s annual international festival of animation and computer games is going global—the iconic event will soon be held in Malaysia. Animex Southeast Asia 2014 will be the university’s first Animex festival to be held outside of the UK.
The Animex International Festival of Animation and Computer Games takes place every year in the north east of England and is one of the premier and largest animation, games and comic festivals in the UK.
And now, 15 years since Animex was first held at Teesside, it is expanding overseas for the first time with Animex Southeast Asia taking place at KDU University College Damansara Jaya campus on Sept 27 and 28.
Simon Stobart, dean of Teesside University’s School of Computing, said, “We are delighted along with our partner KDU, to be able to offer an opportunity for participation in this wonderful event to the people of Malaysia.”
“By hosting the festival at KDU, students will be well exposed to what is happening in the global game development industry and market,” said KDU University College vice chancellor Prof Dr Khong Yoon Loong.
“Students will also understand the level of quality and requirements expected from the global games market.
“Workshops and talks by professional developers from overseas will help improve and increase the knowledge of students,” Khong said.
Among the guests and internationally acclaimed speakers taking part are animation guru Ed Hooks, games designer Alex Trowers, animation producer Yoshiya Ayugai and Jennifer Clixby, producer of Microsoft Lionhead’s Fable series.
Hooks is the author of Acting for Animators and Acting in Animation: A Look at 12 Films and has lectured at studios and animation schools the world over.
He has taught for Disney, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony, Black Rock, Ubisoft, Midway Games, Epic Games, Valve Software and many others.
Trowers, for his part, has worked for many companies such as Bullfrog and Black Rock.
He also worked for Prof Stuart Sumida, whose work in the animation and special effects industries began with Beauty and the Beast and Lion King, and has since included Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia – The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and How to Train Your Dragon.
Clixby has worked in some capacity on every single iteration of the Fable franchise from the original Fable and also was team leader on Fable Heroes.
In 2012, she had the honour of being included in Develop Magazine’s 30 under 30, one of only four women to be included in the feature. She is currently working on Fable Legends.
With the same objectives as its Teesside University counterpart, Animex Southeast Asia will feature talks, masterclasses, networking opportunities and an industry showcase exhibition.
The festival is jointly organised by KDU University College and the University of Teesside, and is in collaboration with Majlis Amanah Rakyat and Jabatan Politeknik Malaysia.
It is co-sponsored by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), MyGameDev (Entry Point Project 14 – NKEA Education) and MSI.
The latest news and speaker updates can be found on the event’s official web page http://animex.tees.ac.uk/sea/