Malaysian Animation 'Horologist' Won Best Animation at San Diego Comic-Con 2023

Horologist began its life as a manga created by YouTuber and filmmaker Jared Lee of Grim Film and local comic artist Cross. It was launched in December 2022 and was sold out shortly after.

Having the story and manga done, Jared took the project to MDEC who were giving grants for animation and managed to turn his manga into a short animated film with the help of Dino Howl Animation.

The film was selected for the Cannes' Short Film Corner, won Best Animation at USA Film Festival, it's in the Atlantic Bridge Film Festival, it's a finalist for Poland's Film Festival called Animator where it's also in the running for Best Animation and Audience Choice Award.

Soon, San Diego Comic-Con came calling and not only did the film premier there, they were given a chance to be on a panel to share about the film.

Horologist would go on to win Best Animation at SDC 2023 and in a Facebook post, Jared shared:

"This happened: ‘Horologist’ just won Best Animation at San Diego Comic-Con 2023. I have no words other than a big thank you to everyone who said yes to this project, and everyone who’ve supported the manga. Friends, family and wife who believed in stories I’ve wanted to tell, and visions I couldn’t describe properly in words."

He thanked FINAS and MDEC for the support and making the win possible.

Jared's TV directorial debut Senduk Swap was also recently nominated at the Contentasia Awards 2023, so the veteran filmmaker is definitely having a moment.

In an interview with Tatler, Jared revealed that the MDEC grant kept Grim Film afloat and that at one point during the pandemic he almost had to let his entire team go and only had 3 months of their salaries left.

For further context, Jared also sold his car, a Porsche Boxter S, to help fund Horologist.

Congratulations Jared! We can't wait to see the short film and buy your next manga.

The gut punch of Jared's short film on YouTube, The Long Distance Relationship, still lives rent free in this editor's mind and was one of the first short films on YouTube to completely wreck him. Here it is for your pleasure.