Mat Sentol or his real name Abdul Rasip Yahya, 91, did not mince his words when he considered himself the pioneer or the Father of Special Effects in Malay Film Production.

Mat Sentol, who spent more than 40 years in the film industry and had gathered wide experience in producing special effects for his movies in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, said he was prepared to share his experience and skills with the filmmakers of today.

“My films which displayed great special effect techniques were ‘Mat Bond’, ‘Mat Tiga Suku’ and ‘Mat Magic’,” he said after delivering a talk on his experience in the movie world at the National Arts Heritage - Human Study Programme at the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The veteran actor said not many people knew of his capability and he was willing to impart his knowledge to interested parties.

At the event organised by the Creative Content Industry Guild (CCIG) with the cooperation of Finas, Mat Sentol was also conferred the award and title of ‘CCIG Legend and Honorary Member’ in appreciation of his talents and contributions.

The award was presented by Communication and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak.

Meanwhile, CCIG chairperson Jurey Latiff Rosli said Mat Sentol deserved to be named the Father of Special Effects in Malay Film Production.

“We were amazed by his creativity and talents in producing special effects for his movies, such as ‘Mat Bond’, ‘Mat Tiga Suku’ and ‘Mat Raja Kapor’.

“His ability was beyond his time as the special effects in his films were done manually,” said Jurey.

He said apart from the skills, Mat Sentol was also very talented in the field of animation, as well as in script writing.

Jurey, who is also a member of the National Arts, Culture and Heritage Academy (Aswara) board of directors, said the works of Mat Sentol had easily qualified him to attain an honorary doctorate equivalent to a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

“I have discussed with CCIG and will bring the proposal to the Aswara board of directors meeting next week to have the recognition and honorary doctorate be conferred on Mat Sentol,” he said.

Mat Sentol began his career as an art teacher in a Chinese school in Singapore before venturing into the movie world in the 1950s.

Apart from working as actor and film director at Cathay-Keris Film Productions in Singapore, he had also written lyrics and composed songs.

- Bernama