Muhammad Umar Akmal Zairul Hisham
- Teaching Fellow
- School of Film and Performing Arts
Academic & Professional Qualifications
- Master of Cultural and Creative Industries, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia (2024)
- Bachelor of Applied Arts with Honours (Cinematography), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Malaysia (2021)
- Diploma in Creative Technology (Screen), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia (2018)
Research Interests
- Malaysian Independent Cinema
- Asian Cinema
- Cosmopolitanism and National Cinema
- Transmedia Storytelling
- Film Studies
- Documentary Filmmaking
- Film Criticism
Teaching Areas
- Cinema Studies
- World Cinema
- Scriptwriting
- Documentary
Courses Taught
- Cinema Studies
- World Cinema
- Scriptwriting
- Filmmaking: Documentary
Achievements & Accolades
- Grant recipient representing Malaysia in the 2025 KF ASEAN Culture House Special Exhibition in Busan, Korea (2025)
- Won Best Performance for Anugerah Lagu Indie (2025)
- Selected to represent Malaysia for Film Leaders Incubator (FLY) in Da Lat, Vietnam (2023)
- Golden Kinabalu Award for Indigenous Language Category in Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) (2024).
- Three original songs featured in Astro Oasis' original reality TV programme, 'Legasi Pejuang’ (2023).
- First place in Sabah Screen Fest 2023 for Open Category for Hivan Kayau documentary (2023).
- Petronas P. Ramlee Chair Award for Excellence Academic Achievement (2022).
- Official Selection of short film ‘By Nadhir Johari’ for CINEBALU Screenings Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) (2022).
- Official Selection of short documentary ‘Stewards of the Land’ for CINEBALU Screenings Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) (2022).