The Glassworker, Pakistan’s first hand-drawn animated feature and the country’s official submission for the 97th Academy Awards, has debuted an English‑language trailer ahead of an August 15 U.S. theatrical release.
The film premiered at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in the Contrechamp section in 2024, with a theatrical release in Pakistan the following month. Directed by Usman Riaz and backed by a decade of creative development, The Glassworker portrays a poignant tale of art, love, and anti-war sentiment inspired by Studio Ghibli’s aesthetic sensibilities.
From Mano Animation Studios and director Usman Riaz, The Glassworker is set in a world loosely inspired by Pakistan. It follows young Vincent and his father Tomas, who run the finest glass workshop in the country. Their lives are disrupted by the arrival of an army colonel and his gifted violinist daughter, Alliz, against the backdrop of an impending war they want no part of. As Vincent and Alliz’s love grows, it is strained by the conflicting worldviews of their fathers, in a time when patriotism and social standing outweigh free thought and artistic pursuits.
The film features voice performances from Art Malik, Sacha Dhawan, Anjli Mohindra, and Tony Jayawardena, and showcases lush, hand‑painted animation steeped in emotion and craft. Because traditional animation artists were rare, almost non-existent, in Pakistan when production began, Riaz and his team had to train artists as they worked on the film.
Along with the new English‑language trailer comes confirmation that the film will hit U.K. and Ireland theaters on September 19 via Dazzler Media, with U.S. distribution handled by Watermelon Pictures.
