Don Hahn

The College of the Canyons cinema department will host a unique afternoon with legendary filmmaker, master storyteller and renowned Walt Disney studios animation producer Don Hahn, who will present a free on-campus screening of his documentary film “Waking Sleeping Beauty.”

A former music and art major at nearby California State University, Northridge (CSUN), Hahn began his professional career at Walt Disney studios in 1976, before going on to become one of the most influential and successful animation producers in the industry.

Hahn has served as the producer behind such Walt Disney classics as “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” while also earning associate producer credits on landmark films including “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and the 2006 Disney Digital 3D version of “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

In 2009, Hahn made his directorial debut with the documentary film “Waking Sleeping Beauty,” about the combination of people and circumstance that helped to produce an animation renaissance at Walt Disney Studios during the 1980s and 90s.

Hahn, who has also authored three books on the art of animation, is currently working with renowned director Tim Burton on the stop-action animated feature film “Frankenweenie” due out in 2012, and has produced and directed for several other documentary film projects, including the highly successful Disney Nature Films.

The event “An Afternoon with Don Hahn” will take place at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 14, in the college’s cinema room, located in Hasley Hall, Room 101 on the Valencia campus.

During the presentation Mr. Hahn will screen his documentary film “Waking Sleeping Beauty,” which will be accompanied by a unique Q & A session with the filmmaker immediately following the film.

This event is free and open to the public, however seating is available on a first come first served basis, and may be limited.

For more information about the event “An Afternoon with Don Hahn,” contact Gary Peterson at 661-362-3379.