Pakistan’s first ever hand-drawn animation, The Glassworker, has at last released its trailer with a pounding whang.
Directed by Usman Riaz, who previously composed the score for Seedlings, the movie breathes on anime-styled pictures powered with a screenplay by writer Moya O’Shea.
A really interesting bit to note is that its lead characters boast both English and Pakistani names, reflecting the two languages that have been used for dubbing its dialogues.
Having said that, the Urdu version falls a bit pale in comparison as conversations seem to have been directly translated from English.
It’s perhaps because of this that, at first glimpse, The Glassworker seems like an actual Japan-backed animation instead of something coming out of Pakistan.
But, of course, it includes a national flavor with the inclusion of Desi characters, such as Nadia Amano, Principal Bhatti, Mrs. Popolzai, and Professor Ansari.
These have been voiced by Khaled Anam, Mooroo, Dino Ali, Mariam Riaz Paracha, Mariam Riaz Paracha, and many others.
How true the movie remains to our own culture anyhow remains a question, which will be answered when The Glassworker releases in theatres on July 26, 2024.
