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‘I have dedicated a third of my life to this. I love this craft more than anything in the world, and it was one of the most difficult things I have ever done.’
— Director Usman Riaz
Ever since The Glassworker’s first images were released, animation fans worldwide have been anticipating the release of Pakistan’s first 2D-animated feature. The stunning, handcrafted movie, which is deeply influenced by the work of Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki, is directed by Usman Riaz and produced by his cousin Khizer Riaz and the team at their Karachi-based studio, Mano. The poignant film tells the story of a father and son who run the finest glass workshop in a country loosely inspired by Pakistan. They find their world turned upside down when an army colonel and his young violinist daughter enter their lives.
“The idea for the film came to me in early 2014,” Usman Riaz tells Animation Magazine. “I was fascinated by glassblowing and wanted to make something around this particular craft. I was 23 years old at the time. Initially, I planned for it to be a live-action movie, because animation seemed like such a distant dream, but my wife Mariam Paracha [art director on The Glassworker and Mano co-founder] said, ‘You love animation, Usman. This should be an animated movie!’ And I said, ‘Sure, why not? How hard can it really be?’ Well, I was just about to find out.”
Funding a Passion Project
Soon after, Usman shared his plans with his cousin Khizer (Mano’s CEO), and together they decided to build an animation studio from the ground up to produce the movie. “The inception of the idea happened around 10 years ago,” Khizer says. “We set up in a small studio space after we raised $116,000 on Kickstarter in 2016. We finished the pilot animation and other Kickstarter rewards in early 2018. After shopping the project around, we were able to get creative consultant Geoffrey Wexler [of Studio Ghibli, Studio Ponoc and Kiyuki Inc.] and writer Moya O’Shea on board the same year. The script was completed in early 2019 and we started preproduction right after. The film was completed in the fall of 2023.”
According to the Riazes, around 450 to 500 people worked on the movie. “Khizer, Mariam and I are partners at Mano,” says Usman. “I am very grateful we got to work with a lot of wonderful, talented people in Pakistan and internationally.”
Usman storyboarded the entire film. “I drew each and every frame, like my heroes before me,” he tells us. “I needed to draw each frame in great detail to show the team exactly what I wanted. I believe that was the foundation for the film. I knew every single shot and had planned accordingly. I also animated on the film. It was all done traditionally, frame by frame, no ’tweening software was used. We wouldn’t even know how to use them if you gave them to us!”
The cousins point out that the biggest challenge was undertaking two mammoth tasks at once. “We had to create an infrastructure for a functioning animation studio alongside actually producing an animated film,” says Khizer. Adds Usman, “Making a hand-drawn animated film is not easy anywhere in the world. We did it in Pakistan where we had no help, no guidance and no infrastructure for film or animation. We just had ourselves and our conviction.”
Usman says he has been obsessed with animation since he was a young boy. “Animated movies and comic books inspired me to draw,” he shares. “There is something timeless about films that are made by hand. Four-year-old me would be very proud of what we have done!”
The director says the works of Walt Disney have been a very special source of inspiration for him. “His personal works, the films that he directed, hold a special place in my heart,” he says. “That level of artistry has not been seen and will not be seen for a very long time. My biggest influence, however, is the work of Studio Ghibli and my heroes will always be Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. There is something special about their films that I cannot describe in words. I think it’s very obvious that my work draws a great deal from these amazing people.”
Khizer says he personally loves the story of The Glassworker. “I really admire the way Usman weaved a love story during a time of war with the message that people endure no matter under what conditions they live,” he says. “Also, the animation and the background art are beautiful, and I am very proud of the quality we have been able to achieve. And the music — the score Usman and Carmine DiFlorio composed and José Carlos Campos produced — is brilliant.”
Usman says he’s quite pleased with what he and his team were able to create. “I love the fact that we were able to pull it off, and that it looks decent. No one has done something like this in Pakistan for a very good reason — it’s impossible. We achieved something that no one out of our part of the world was able to do. And to have our first film premiere at Annecy as part of the Official Competition with some of the greatest animation studios and films in the world is truly special.”
Emotional Rewards
His cousin also feels like it’s all a bit surreal. “It’s still unbelievable for me, but I’m also excited for audiences to see it starting with Annecy in June and then Pakistan on July 26th,” says Khizer. “I’m hopeful for audiences across the world to see it, and we hope to have news regarding wider distribution soon.”
Usman adds, “I honestly don’t know how I feel. I have dedicated a third of my life to this. I love this craft more than anything in the world. It was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. And I have done a lot of things: I have written and composed my own music; I have conducted orchestras; I have performed and spoken on the TED Main Stage and at conferences all over the world. Nothing has compared to this. I gave it my all. Now we will see what happens. Everything is in God’s hands now.”
The Glassworker will premiere at Annecy Festival in the Official Competition lineup.
Directed by Usman Riaz, the film is produced by Khizer Riaz, Manuel Cristobal and Apoorva Bakshi. The voice cast includes Art Malik, Sacha Dhawan, Anjli Mohindra and Tony Jayawardena. Visit manoanimationstudios.com for more information.
