Set to compete in Annecy’s Contrechamp and screen at the Cannes Film Market, the hand-drawn 2D Pakistani feature follows the relationship of a father and son in the face of war.
The first trailer for the hand-drawn 2D animated Pakistani feature The Glassworker has been unveiled. The project will screen at the Cannes Film Market and has also been selected to compete in the 2024 Annecy Festival Contrechamp category.
Director Usman Riaz told Variety, “I started this journey 10 years ago in 2014. No one believed it was possible. To have the film premiere at Annecy 2024 alongside some of the best-animated films in the world is a feeling I cannot really describe. I am overjoyed and in awe. No one had ever attempted to make a hand-drawn animated film in Pakistan for a very good reason – it’s impossible. We have all worked extremely hard to make this possible, I am grateful to the Annecy team for believing in ‘The Glassworker,’ not just as a film, but for what it represents, which is the power of perseverance.”
Set in a place loosely based on Pakistan, The Glassworker follows the young Vincent and his father Thomas, the owner of a fine glass workshop. When a war breaks out and an army colonel arrives in their town with his violinist daughter Alliz, the relationship between the father and son is tested.
The project features the voice talents of Art Malik (Man Like Mobeen), Sacha Dhawan (Wolf), Anjli Mohindra (The Lazarus Project), and Tony Jayawardena (Ackley Bridge).
Riaz produces through their Mano Animation Studios alongside Khizer Riaz and Manuel Cristobal, with Apoorva Bakshi executive producing through Awedacious Originals.
The Glassworker releases in Pakistan on July 26.
Check out the trailer now:
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