Mano Animation Studios released today a trailer for The Glassworker. The Pakistani animated movie is the first hand-drawn project from the country, and it’s directed by Usman Riaz, who previously helmed the short film The Waves. The movie scored a July 26 release date in Pakistan, and is yet to get an international release window. However, the family film will be screened at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival this June and later at the Cannes Film Market.

The trailer introduces us to Vincent (voiced by Sacha Dhawan), the son of a glassworker who runs a glass workshop in a location loosely inspired by Pakistan. We quickly find out that, with some Studio Ghibli vibes, the story will be ambitious, covering the themes of love during wartime, ethical conflicts and the process of making art out of glass. The voice cast also features Art Malik (Man Like Mobeen), Anjli Mohindra (The Lazarus Project) and Tony Jayawardena (Ackley Bridge).

The Glassworker has the makings of the kind of movie that may put the Pakistani film industry on everyone’s radars across the world. Should the story and style manage to make an impression in film festivals throughout the year, it’s not unlikely that it ends up securing a spot in the Best Animated Feature Film category at next year’s Oscars. The movie’s producer Apoorva Bakshi stated that The Glassworkerpays homage to Japanese animation and that “the film’s technical brilliance is matched by its profound emotional core.”

‘The Glassworker’ Director Celebrates International Recognition

In an official statement, The Glassworker director and co-writer Usman Riaz celebrated the very existence of the movie and revealed that the project has been brewing for a decade. The filmmaker also mentioned the difficulties of making a movie of this magnitude in Pakistan:

“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.”

The Glassworker will have its world premiere on this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival along with other highly expected titles such as Transformers One, Inside Out 2 and Moana 2. The Pakistani movie will be featured in the Contrechamp Competition, a segment of the festival dedicated to animated movies from all over the world.

You can watch the dubbed trailer above.