Pakistan's first hand-drawn animated feature film, 'The Glassworker,' produced by a director inspired by Studio Ghibli, is being crowdfunded for a Japanese dubbed version and nationwide release.
A crowdfunding campaign is currently underway to produce a Japanese dubbed version of The Glassworker, Pakistan's first feature-length hand-drawn animated film, directed by Usman Riaz, the youngest ever
Pakistan's first hand-drawn animated feature film, 'The Glassworker' (English title), is being dubbed in Japanese and released nationwide! - Crowdfunding MotionGallery
https://motion-gallery.net/projects/theglassworker
The film explores the contrast between the horrors of war and the beauty of art, delicately portraying the fate of love between a boy and a girl shaken by the flames of war, as well as the conflict between parents and children. It had its world premiere at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in 2024, and was selected as Pakistan's entry for the 97th Academy Awards.
Director Usman Riaz was a TED Fellow and a professional guitarist, but he was inspired by the works of Studio Ghibli and decided that he wanted to create his own animated film, so he decided to take the plunge and start planning this film.
In Pakistan, the idea of making a living from art is rare, so in 2016, they raised over $16,000 (approximately 2.4 million yen) through crowdfunding. They taught the staff they gathered 'hand-drawn animation' techniques from scratch, aiming to complete the production domestically, and finally completed the work after 10 years.
This film was previously screened under the Japanese title 'Glass Craftsman' at the Hiroshima Animation Season 2024 as part of the Hiroshima International Peace Culture Festival .
'Glass Craftsman' Trailer - Hiroshima Animation Season 2024 - YouTube
A video message has also been released in which Director Usman talks about how Japanese animation works are special to him, that they have been a great source of inspiration in creating his work, and that bringing his work to Japan feels like a dream come true.
A message from director Usman Riaz of 'The Glassworker' has arrived! - YouTube
This crowdfunding campaign is being run by Ellis Films, which handles domestic distribution, and the funds raised will be used for the production costs of the Japanese dubbed version, advertising costs, etc. The rough breakdown of costs is approximately 5 million yen for the dubbed version production costs and approximately 1.6 million yen for other costs.
There are eight different crowdfunding courses available depending on the amount of support. The rewards are as follows:
| Reward Contents | |
|---|---|
| 3,000 yen | Thank you message, invitation to LINE open chat exclusive to crowdfunding participants, distribution of production diary |
| 5,000 yen | 3000 yen reward + invitation to pre-release online preview screening |
| 10,000 yen | 5,000 yen reward + your name listed on the official website |
| 15,000 yen | 10,000 yen reward + your name in the end credits of the film (regular slot) |
| 25,000 yen | 15,000 yen return contents + crowdfunding limited goods (1 item), advance tickets (2), DVD |
| 50,000 yen | The 25,000 yen reward includes a special credit card and movie merchandise (all types, 1 set) |
| 100,000 yen | 50,000 yen reward + invitation to the premiere screening with the main cast (for the person and their companion) |
| 1 million yen | Reward contents: 100,000 yen + dubbing appearance, advance tickets to films distributed by Elles Films (10 films x 2 tickets) |
Ellis Films also distributes the Ukrainian animated film ' Stolen Princess: The Kyiv Princess and Ruslan ,' a dubbed version of which was released in Japan in 2023.
'Stolen Princess: The Kyiv Princess and Ruslan' Japanese dubbed special edition - YouTube
The fact that INI 's Takatsuka Taimu played the role of the main character, Ruslan, in this work also attracted a lot of attention.
Special recording video of the Japanese dubbed version of the song 'Shout It Out' from the movie 'Stolen Princess: The Princess of Kyiv and Ruslan' - YouTube
Related Posts:
