At the 2018 edition of TedxKyoto - Balance, an independently organized TED event held this month (November 4) at Kyoto International Conference Center, Usman Riaz, founder of Mano Animation Studios, was present.
As one of the speakers, Usman, who founded Mano Animation Studios and is writing/directing its first venture, The Glassworker (Sheeshahgar), tells Instep from Tokyo that he spoke about hand drawn animation, the genesis of Mano Animation Studios and the influence Japanese anime has had on his work. “It was an honor sharing Mano Animation Studios work in Japan at TedxKyoto. Japanese animation is an inspiration to us all. Very grateful to have such close ties to the animation industry here.”
He adds: “How Japanese anime inspires us all to make beautiful animation and how we are taking hand-drawn animation forward in Pakistan.”
Presently in Tokyo for some meetings, Usman Riaz is no stranger to Ted events; he was selected as a Ted Fellow in 2012 and invited to TEDGlobal in Edinburgh to showcase his work.
Usman Riaz, who is also a One Beat Fellow, has appeared on Coke Studio in the past and has multiple releases to his credit, plans to release The Glassworker (the full-length film) at the end of 2020 but a prelude from the film has been released and received rave reviews, both from local press and international ones with Vice dubbing it: “The Glassworker, the debut film from Mano Animation Studios, looks incredible.”
Speaking to Instep in an interview earlier this year, noted Usman Riaz: “We’re looking into collaborating with studios who want the same things we do, which is to make beautiful work we can all be proud of and we want to do this right. Since The Glassworker is the first time hand-drawn animation is being done in Pakistan, rather than just have the title of ‘first hand-drawn film in Pakistan’ we want it to be the first and best.”