The R&D Studio launched its 2D animated short film “Batik Girl” on its official YouTube channel and the 9-minute flick has already turned a lot of heads.

“Batik Girl” tells the story of a young girl coping with a recent tragedy who finds herself drawn into the magical world of batik painting.

A collaboration between The R&D Studio, writer Heidi Shamsuddin, Tudidut Studio and Universiti Teknologi Mara’s Faculty of Music, the animated short’s production was supported by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), which awarded the film’s concept the Intellectual Property Creators Challenge (IPCC) in 2017.

Upon completion, “Batik Girl” sprinted right into the festival circuit, and set records after it was shown at an astonishing 26 film festivals around the world.

And audiences and judges loved what they saw. “Batik Girl” won the best short animated film at Festival de Largos y Cortos de Santiago in Chile; the Honourable Mention in Audience Favourites award at the Florida Animation Festival; and the Gold Medal in the Regional category at the 20th Digicon6 Asia, Japan.

While presenting the award, jury representative Professor Richard William Allen described “Batik Girl” as “A whimsical, truly beautiful film that celebrates through the glorious forms and colours of animation, a life-transforming nature of the creative imagination. I think the film is a profound meditation on the very idea of animation.”

The R&D Studio released a trailer of the short film earlier this year – and the “Girl” was on fire! The teaser caused a massive sensation on social media, as it resonated with Malaysians who were touched by themes close to their hearts.

“We wanted to tell a story based locally, in Malaysia, and around batik, specifically.

However, the emotional core of this story is a relationship between a grandmother and a granddaughter,” said The R&D Studio senior partner, and co-creator and director of “Batik Girl,” Irwan Junaidy.