The Glassworker

West Coast Premiere

Pakistan’s Best International Feature submission, 2025 Academy Awards
Official Selection, 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival

The Waterfront is the only place Vincent has called home. As the son of the town’s glass artisan, Vincent’s days are spent collecting silicon-rich sand on the beach, playing with the local djinn (fire spirit), and assisting his father as he crafts magnificent figures from glass. But when he meets newly arrived violinist Alliz in his family’s shop, shimmering in the light of artisan glass, Vincent’s heart is forever changed.

Vincent is the son of a pacifist and Alliz is the daughter of a famous Colonel. Inevitably, their budding relationship is caught in the crossfire of a looming resource war and their fathers’ conflicting philosophies. And yet, Vincent and Alliz grow closer as they inspire each other’s ambitions in glasswork and music. But as war gets closer to home, patriotism and status begin to encroach on artmaking and questions of right and wrong. Will Vincent and Alliz’ artistry and budding romance triumph over the war that brought them together, or will they shatter under the pressure?

THE GLASSWORKER is a historic achievement for Pakistan as the country’s first hand-drawn animated feature. In his directorial debut, Usman Riaz embodies the artistry that can manifest from passion; Riaz started his own animation studio, co-composed and animated the entire project to do the impossible, and used Studio Ghibli-esque animation to imagine an enrapturing history and in the process redefine the world’s understanding of Pakistani cinema altogether.

– Jeremy Aranda