The Glassworker, a hand-drawn animated film from Pakistan, has captivated Chinese audiences, as evidenced by the showreel’s more than 558,000 views, 5,000 comments, and reviews on BiliBili, a well-liked alternative to YouTube in China with more than 70 million active daily users.
In an exclusive interview with China Economic Net (CEN), Usman Riaz, director of the animated film and founder of the Karachi-based Mano Animation Studios, said that he was “tremendously grateful for the response it [the showreel] has gotten.” It would be amazing to share the film with the incredible audience and animation supporters in China.
The Glassworker’s director, Usman Riaz, draws pictures on a storyboard. The Pakistani director was inspired by his 16-year-old journey to Italy, when he had the chance to witness glassblowing in Venice, and when the chance to do so presented itself, he opted to turn it into an animated movie.
Usman didn’t begin working on the movie until 2015, and since then, the production has been difficult. Usman told CEN that the skilled filmmaker spent a year planning and working hard before raising $116,000 through a Kickstarter campaign to make a pilot animation in 2016 and releasing a prototype of the movie in 2018, according to Usman.
“I was honestly just so thrilled and so happy when it did come out. And it got the acclaim and response that it did because it’s a phenomenal film,” Usman noted. “I hope that we can make something that is hopefully as good because they are an inspiration.”
“I can’t believe this comes from Pakistan. This is real art. Really looking forward to the entire film,” reads one comment on BiliBili.
“Amazingly high-quality film! If this proves a success, it will revolutionise Pakistan’s cultural industry,” another user posted.
