The Glassworker, Pakistan’s first 2D anime feature film is finally going to be released in summer of 2024. The film’s studio, Mano Animation has partnered with Mandviwalla Entertainment to distribute the film in Pakistan.
The studio Ghibli art style inspired film has been in development for a decade now and has been much awaited by enthusiasts. Also called “Sheesha Gar”, the film has been a love letter to traditional animation by animator Usman Riaz and has been a labour of love which has taken many, many years to accomplish.
Nadeem Mandviwalla stated that the film is a “landmark title in Pakistani cinema; never before has the country produced a hand-drawn animated film of this quality.”
With such a monumental accomplishment, one hopes that the film will be released on Eid Ul Azha 2024 so that the full force of the box office is behind its release.
What is the Glassworker About?
According to Mano Studios themselves, the plot of the Glassworker centers on the life of Vincent, the son of Tomas, a Glassworker. When a war breaks out, the arrival of a colonel and his young daughter, Elliz, transform their lives forever.
The Toil and Joy Behind the Glassworker
Credit goes to Usman Riaz for sticking with the Glassworker for so long. More experienced and better funded filmmakers have given up on their projects since the new wave of Pakistani Cinema has come about.
The trailer for the film was released back in 2016 for the first time and I personally have been waiting for it ever since. In 2022, a showreel of the work done so far on the Glassworker was shown at Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
The process behind the creation of ‘The Glassworker’ has been documented extensively by Usman Riaz which could probably be summarized into a documentary itself. One can hope that after the film is released, a companion documentary is released on home video.
For now, I wait with baited breath for the release of the film.
