When you talk about Usman Riaz, the only words you can think of are “Jack of all trades and master of ALL”. TED Senior Fellow, a fine-artist and composer who is passionate about the creative process and using technology to rapidly further talents. Usman is also famous for captivating audiences around the world with his storytelling through film and music.
In a country like Pakistan, where medium of animation has not been explored properly the way it has been explored around the world, is certainly going to change soon. ‘The Glassworker’ – A hand-drawn animated film written and directed by Usman Riaz will be Pakistan’s first fully hand animated film.
‘Life is beautiful but fragile, like glass’
Mano Animation Studios aims to support all the artists who wants to show their beautiful creation to the world and that they can be proud of. When you talk about using technology, Usman exactly knew what, when and how to use. Kickstarter, with which a lot of people are still unfamiliar is the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects.
For The Glassworker, the team set a goal of $50,000 for the starters, which they achieved in 10-15 days, later getting the total funds of $116,000. Now that’s what I call pure genius-ness!
The Story is actually about a young boy named Vincent, who is learning the art of Glassblowing from his father in their Glass Shop. As he grows older he develops friendship with a frequent visitor Alliz – a young violin virtuoso. The film will follow both Vincent and Alliz through their developing years as life gets more complicated and inhibits their relationship.
The story sounds beautiful and I am sure that it will turn out just PERFECT. I would like to wish Usman Riaz and his team at Mano Animation Studios best of luck for the venture.
