CONTENT ADVISORY
Depictions of war and conflict, blood and gore
Pakistan202498 minUrduToronto PremiereAnimation, Family-friendly
A young, gifted Vincent and his father Tomas run the finest glass workshop in the country, creating delicate, magnificent pieces of art. Their close bond is soon put to the test with the arrival of an army colonel and his young, aspiring violinist daughter Alliz, to their hometown. Amidst the rumblings of an impending war, Vincent and Alliz eventually fall in love, a relationship that is continually opposed and challenged by their fathers.
Using precise and absorbing hand-drawn animation, bursting with rich detail and colours, The Glassworker is a groundbreaking production, pieced together over a decade by Mano Animation Studios, Pakistan’s first hand-drawn animation studio. Much in the vein of a Studio Ghibli feature, which director Usman Riaz credits as inspiration, The Glassworker uses each frame with deep intention to tell a heart-tugging story about the fragility of life, particularly one lived through conflict.
– Mariam Zaidi
Art Malik
Sacha Dhawan
Anjli Mohindra
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Annecy International Animation Film Festival, 2024
Usman Riaz
Usman Riaz is a film director, animator, and composer born and raised in Pakistan. At 22, he was chosen as a TED senior fellow, speaking at conferences across the globe. Riaz studied graphic design at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Karachi and later founded Mano Animation Studios, Pakistan’s first ever hand-drawn animation studio.
17 Nov, 2024 1:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C3PG
CONTENT ADVISORY
Depictions of war and conflict, blood and gore
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This film is scheduled to be presented with subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated). Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Information on available captions will be added soon, thank you for your patience.
After a mysterious encounter leaves her daughter Sumi in a coma, Sara rushes from South Korea to Winnipeg to be by her side. As Sumi heals, Sara begins to unpack details of her life that her daughter never shared with her. On a mission to find a husband to take care of Sumi when she wakes, Sara ventures into the daunting unknowns of dating apps and Winnipeg winters, and finds out more about herself than she planned.
Amir is an aspiring chef trying to get ahead, but he can’t seem to break out and meet his own expectations or those of his parents, while his favoured younger brother Mahyar can seemingly do no wrong. When news from Iran arrives that a family friend has died and passed his entire inheritance solely to Mahyar, the mystery of the gift’s provenance begins to unravel the family's story, the image of their parents, and the relationship between the two brothers.
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Founded in Toronto in 1997, Reel Asian is Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival and a year-round cultural organization dedicated to championing Asian and Asian diasporic artists and storytellers. What began as a grassroots film festival has grown into a national platform supporting filmmakers and audiences through screenings, education, industry initiatives, artist development, and community programming presented across Toronto, the GTA, and online across Canada.
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