The Glassworker is a Pakistani animated film by Mano Animation Studios and director Usman Riaz, who also serves as an animator and co-composer. It follows a town divided by duty and class, and a glassmaker’s son falls in love with a violinist who is the colonel’s daughter. The film has received critical acclaim with an 88% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes and an audience score of 95%.

The Glassworker premiered at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 10, 2024, and was released in Pakistani theaters on July 26, 2024. The film will be released in the United States, with a special sold-out screening tonight at Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles featuring a Q&A with director Riaz and moderator Sabeen Faheem.

If you have seen the poster and the trailer, it is giving off Studio Ghibli vibes. It is no surprise since it is produced by Mano Animation Studios’ Geoffrey Wexler, who has worked for the iconic Japanese animation studio with films such as From Up on Poppy Hill, The Wind Rises, Only Yesterday and more.

Siddhant Adlakha of Variety: “The Glassworker goes beyond merely aping Miyazaki’s distinctive style. It gets to the heart of the anti-war sentiment that underscores much of his work.”

Swara Salih of The Nerds of Color had this to say about the film: “With his inaugural film that he’s worked on for over 10 years, Riaz and his team have made a resounding contribution to animation and cinema, giving us a timeless tale with so, so much to say.”

Frank J. Avella of The Conteding: “I loved this film so much and the theme of art being paramount to our lives could not be more vital right now. The movie also explores the difficulties inherent in two people connecting when they share conflicting ideologies.”

About The Glassworker

Synopsis: Young Vincent and his father, Tomas, run the finest glass workshop in the country and find their lives upended by an impending war in which they want no part. The arrival in their town of an army colonel and his young, talented violinist daughter, Alliz, shakes their reality and tests the relationship between father and son.

The English voice cast includes Art Malik, Sacha Dhawan, Anjli Mohindra, Tony Jayawardena, Teresa Gallagher, Maya Soraya, Sham Ali, and Mina Anwar.