The Glassworker
| The Glassworker (Sheesha Ghar) | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| شیشہ گر | |
| Directed by | Usman Riaz |
| Written by | Usman Riaz |
| Screenplay by | Moya O’Shea |
| Story by | Usman Riaz |
| Produced by | Khizer Riaz Manuel Cristóbal |
| Starring | Art Malik Sacha Dhawan Anjli Mohindra Khaled Anam Mooroo Mariam Riaz Paracha Tony Jayawardena Teresa Gallagher Mina Anwar |
| Edited by | Jose Manuel Jimenez |
| Music by | Usman Riaz Carmine Diflorio |
Production company | Mano Animation Studios |
Release dates | 26 July 2024 (Pakistan) 9 June 2024 (Annecy) |
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Languages | Urdu (اردو) English |
The Glassworker (Urdu: Sheesha Gar, شیشہ گر) is an upcoming Pakistani animated film directed by Usman Riaz and produced by Mano Animation Studios.[1] Co-produced by Khizer Riaz and Manuel Cristóbal from a screenplay by Moya O'Shea. Featuring an anime-influenced animation, it is Pakistan's first hand-drawn animated feature film.[2]
The film is scheduled to premiere at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 9 and to release theatrically in Pakistan on July 26.[3][4]
Voice cast[edit]
| Character | Voice actor | |
|---|---|---|
| Urdu | English | |
| Tomas Oliver | Khaled Anam | Art Malik |
| Vincent Oliver | Mooroo | Sacha Dhawan |
| Alliz Amano | Mariam Riaz Paracha | Anjli Mohindra |
| Colonel Amano | Ameed Riaz | Tony Jayawardena |
| Young Vincent | Mahum Moazzam | Teresa Gallagher |
| Nadia Amano | Faiza Kazi | Mina Anwar |
| Malik Khan | Dino Ali | Sham Ali |
| Penni | Aysha Sheikh | Maya Saroya |
| Principal Bhatti | Nila Aalia | |
| Professor Ansari | Alex Jordan | |
| Mrs. Popolzai | Bex Wood | |
Development[edit]
A Kickstarter campaign to produce a pilot for the film was launched in February 2016.[5] The project raised $116,000, more than double the original goal.[6] The pilot was completed in 2018 to much acclaim and articles were published in Wired, Konbini and Vice praising the concept and quality of the project.[7][failed verification]
The original story by Usman Riaz was taken forward by Moya O"Shea, who came on board to write the screenplay for the film which was completed in December 2018.[citation needed]
Since there is a dearth of any animation infrastructure in Pakistan, the team at Mano Animation Studios in Karachi had to build everything from scratch in order to create a hand drawn animated film. This included training artists on how to animate in the traditional style, paint backgrounds with the film's specific aesthetic in mind and create production pipelines to ensure everything was created efficiently, on time and of the highest quality.[citation needed]
The pre-production teams studied various aspects of Pakistani and South Asian culture to depict daily life in the film. Many buildings in the movie are inspired by the colonial buildings of the city of Karachi. The bazaar and surrounding buildings are inspired by the Empress Market and other colonial architecture located in Karachi. The skin tones, clothing and food in the movie shares similarities with local Pakistani culture.[citation needed]
The animation team created a style inspired by Japanese animation studios and studios from the West.
Production[edit]
 |
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 'The Glassworker' Annecy WIP 2022, YouTube) |
The success of the pilot allowed the studio to raise funding and begin full-scale production of the film in January 2019. Pre-production and storyboarding took place concurrently. The storyboards were completed during the COVID-19 pandemic in October 2020.
Production was a mammoth task for a studio creating its debut feature. Even though most of the film was produced in Pakistan, some animation outsource services were used from studios in Korea and Philippines. Some background art outsource services were used from studios in Lithuania and Thailand.
Sound post-production was finalized in Spain. English dialogues were recorded with David Freedman in the UK and Urdu dialogues were recorded at EMI Pakistan.
Production wrapped in June 2023 and post production wrapped in end 2023.
Release[edit]
The film will release in Pakistan on July 26, 2024 and distributed by Geo Films and Mandviwalla Entertainment.[8][9] The film is scheduled to premiere world-wide at the 2024 Annecy on June 9.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Ansari, Hasan (27 January 2016). "Usman Riaz's 'The Glassworker': Pakistan's first animated film". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- ^ Imaan Sheikh (5 February 2016). "This Is "The Glassworker", Pakistan's First Fully Hand-Drawn Animated Film". Buzz Feed. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- ^ "The Glassworker to be released in Pakistan in collaboration with Mandviwalla Entertainment | Instep | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ "Annecy Selection 'The Glassworker' Unveils First Trailer, Sets Cannes Market, Pakistan Release Dates (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
- ^ "Usman Riaz releases the teaser of 'The Glassworker'". Hip in Pakistan. 6 February 2016. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- ^ "The Glassworker: An Animated Film Directed by Usman Riaz by Mano Animation Studios — Kickstarter". Kickstarter. 18 February 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ Farhan, Mustafa. "This TED Fellow is bringing Ghibli-style animation to Pakistan". www.wired.com.
- ^ "Geo Films partners with Mano Animation Studios for animated movie 'The Glassworker'". www.geo.tv. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ Mehmood, Yousuf (30 March 2024). "Pakistani Anime Movie 'The Glassworker' (Sheesha Gar) Finally Gets Release Date". PakistaniCinema.Net. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
