[2] He was the first head of production of the British Film Institute from 1971,[3] in which post he instigated the BFI's policy of backing low-budget feature films that charted in new directions;[4] he assisted the director Bill Douglas by securing crew and funding to make The Bill Douglas Trilogy (1972–78),[5] and financially supported the production of Winstanley (1975).
[6] Hassan was the first to support film that was made by Black British filmmakers about their experiences in Britain: Horace Ove's Pressure.
[7] In 1979 he wrote a policy paper for AIP (of which he was a founder member) on the future of the National Film Finance Corporation, which led to him being appointed to the board by the Minister of Trade and Industry.
[2] In this position he backed the film Babylon (1980),[8] Gregory's Girl, Britannia Hospital, Raymond Briggs' When the Wind Blows and again helped Douglas in the production of Comrades (1986).
These include Merchant Ivory's Heat and Dust and Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence.