You know how influential someone is in your life when he or she has caused you to do something you wouldn’t have normally pursued on your own. For example, hearing that awesome guitar solo by a legendary musician made you want to play the guitar professionally. Or after reading a well-written book, it has moved you to write your own piece of literature as well. Whoever they may be or whatever they have done, they have inspired you to act and tap into your potential.
This is exactly how acclaimed Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli, affected this musician turned animator from Pakistan to create not only his own film, but also put up the first-ever hand-drawn animation studio in his country.
Usman Riaz, the founder of Mano Animation Studios, shared how a rare visit to the Studio Ghibli in Japan made him realize that he’s love for animation is stronger than his passion for music. At that time he was enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston and he decided to drop out.
He then started a campaign via Kickstarter, promising “an authentic, hand-animated feature imbued with Pakistani culture.” Raising a budget of $116,000, Riaz started working on his first feature film — The Glassworker. But he had to start from scratch — learning the basics and studying graphic design and illustration at Indus Valley School of Art in Pakistan.
Riaz shared that at first he had no intention of putting up his own animation studio. But there wasn’t any in his country. The closest to Studio Ghibli or Disney, were animation houses that work on commercials, 3D shorts, or computer graphics for live-action movies. The idea of the hand-drawn animated feature such as The Glassworker was laughed at.
Yet that didn’t deter Riaz from pursuing his passion — even if it means putting up his own animation studio from the ground up. Teaming up with his wife to kickoff the business, their team has already grown to 20. And the upcoming film, The Glassworker, is already making a lot of noise on social media after they released the film’s prelude.
https://www.facebook.com/manoanimationstudios/videos/582980008716510/
https://twitter.com/traveler_geek/status/974896653793746944
I came across with this incredible animation of @manostudios on the internet. OMG, I LOVE IT! #TheGlassworker – Prelude [Official] & Behind the Scenes at Mano https://t.co/uMThq5U7Q1 vía @YouTube ✨🌹✨
— Wolfberry 🐺🍓 (@wolfberry_24) March 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/naveenbokhari/status/974332248676880387
https://twitter.com/eddiepearson/status/973898107271438336
@manostudios just watched The Glassblower Prelude and wow! It is amazing to hear that you just went against everything to make your dreams come true, really inspirational! I'll be rooting for you guys and hope the movie becomes a huge success! Congratulation and good luck!
— Rarirama (@igorarirama) March 13, 2018
Looks very pretty. 🙂
— Clara Sia ▶️ SGF ▶️ XP Summit (@seriouslyclara) March 9, 2018
You know those movies that capture the simple yet stunning beauty of life? That's this. https://t.co/sOPGjFUTX2
— Gaijin (GimGam) Goombah (@GaijinGoombah) March 9, 2018
Major props to @manostudios for the work that they are doing, I actually cried out of pride for having this thing exist in Pakistan. https://t.co/QsjDyJae9f
— Mooroo (@Mooroo4) February 21, 2018
Hey, i think i fell in love with hand drawn animation movie and very very excited for Sheesha Gar – The glassworker . @manostudios
— no context nalka (@mahobili) March 20, 2017
#TheGlassworker already feels like a movie to please one´s eye & heart. My eye & mind is set on you @manostudios https://t.co/LTvIysKoe0
— Kristina Aschen (@KristinaAschen) January 11, 2017
According to their website, The Glassworker “…is a coming-of-age story about two children from separate walks of life, set in the fictitious Waterfront Town. Vincent is an apprentice Glass Blower learning from his father in their Glass Shop. Alliz is a prodigious violinist striving to find her own unique voice on the instrument.” Riaz further added that this story reminds us that “…life is beautiful but fragile, like glass itself.”
You can watch the full prelude here:
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