When Usman and Khizar Riaz wanted to make a feature-length animated film, they suddenly realized that their country had neither the animators nor the animation studio capable of producing it. “We had to start an animation studio and train animators before we could even think about making an animated film,” say the cousins from Karachi, Pakistan. Once the animation studio was complete, their long-awaited project finally took off.
Ten years later, Pakistan’s first 2D animated feature film is set to have its world premiere at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, the world’s premier celebration of animated films, which runs from June 9 to 15. Glass Bloweris a completely hand-drawn and hand-drawn feature film inspired by Japanese animation, directed by Usman and produced by Khizar.
A dream come true
The film, which has been shot separately in Urdu and English, will have its world premiere in Annecy, a picturesque French city at the foot of Mont Blanc, before hitting Pakistan on July 26. Produced by Mano Animation Studio, founded by Usman and Kaiser, the 90-minute film tells the story of a father and son glassworker whose lives are turned upside down when civil war breaks out.
“Pakistan has a poor infrastructure for films, especially animated films,” says Usman, the prolific artist who wrote the original story and illustrated the film’s storyboards and overall animation. Glass Blower“Pakistan does not have an animation film industry and a feature-length animated film has been a distant dream for the country,” he adds. Glass Blower “It was like building the tracks while the train was moving,” said Khizar, who grew up in Karachi renting DVDs and watching films with Usman.
The film will be shot separately in Urdu and English and will be released in Pakistan on July 26.
of journey Glass Blower It all started 10 years ago, when Usman was in Tokyo to give a TedX talk. “I was really nervous because I was in the land of anime,” he says. “Then someone from Studio Ghibli[the famous Japanese animation company that won an honorary Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival earlier this week]gave me their business card,” adds Usman, who studied graphic design at Karachi’s Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture.
It was a visit to Studio Ghibli, the Japanese studio co-founded by legendary Japanese animators Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, who have created countless cult characters and revolutionised anime films over the past four decades, that laid the foundation for Usman’s film career and Pakistan’s animation film industry.
The film is directed by Usman Riaz (centre), produced by Khizar Riaz (left) and art direction by Maryam Riaz Paracha (right).
Returning from Japan, Usman and Khizar founded Mano Animation Studios in Karachi. The next step was to recruit art school students across the country to become animators and artists. Consultants from Studio Ghibli were on hand to support their dream of producing Pakistan’s first 2D animated feature film.
Soon Usman began drawing for the film. “The storyboard had 2,500 drawings and 1,477 shots,” he recalls. “No one in Pakistan had done anything like this. Apple founder Steve Jobs once said that it takes years of hard work to become an overnight success.”
In 2018, the cousins from Karachi produced an eight-minute pilot animation. Glass Blower So he approached Studio Ghibli for advice. With the famous studio’s approval, production quickly got underway. Over the next four years, a production team of 500 people worked hard every day on the film.
“It was originally a two-hour film but we edited it down to 90 minutes,” said Usman, who has received a full scholarship to study music composition at Berklee College of Music in Boston, US. “The film is a collaboration of South Asian talent,” said Khizar.
The 90-minute film tells the story of a father and son who run a glass workshop whose lives are turned upside down when civil war breaks out.
The English cast includes British-Pakistani actor Art Malik (The road to India, City of Joy, Bug Milka Bug, The Little Mermaid) and British Indian actor Sacha Dhawan (Job, Sherlock, Woman in a van).
Malik will voice the father, Thomas Oliver, while Dhawan will play his son, Vincent. The cast also includes Sri Lankan-British actor Tony Jayawardena (A streetcar named Bob and skyscraper).
Born from a common dream
At the recently concluded 77th Cannes Film Festival, the world’s largest film market, Marché du Film, Ousmane and Kaizer joined the film’s production team. Glass Blower At the American Pavilion.
“The Cannes Film Festival event is an opportunity to share our unique story with a global audience ahead of its world premiere in Annecy in June,” says Khizar. “Making this film took 10 years of my life. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been a journey that has taught me a lot, and I’m excited to share this journey with other dream chasers,” adds Usman.
The film’s cast includes British-Pakistani actor Art Malik and British-Indian actor Sacha Dhawan.
“It was a huge commercial hit. The Legend of Maula Jatt Festival Favorites Joyland and In flames“In a world where stories from the global south are marginalized and Islamophobia remains rife, our films are breaking barriers and telling our own stories,” said Mohammed Ali Naqvi, chairman of the Pakistan Academy selection committee, which champions new South Asian voices.
International Emmy Award-winning producer Apoorva BakshiCrime in Delhi, Search for Veerappan) served as executive producer. Glass craftsman. “create Glass Blower “It’s been a journey weaving together intricate threads of emotion, artistry and cultural resonance,” says Bakshi. “It’s a testament to the power of collaboration and the striving to achieve excellence born from a common dream,” she adds.
