“The Glassworker is a historic milestone for Pakistan’s film industry, marking the country’s first hand-drawn animated feature film.”

The Glassworker premiered to a packed house at Nueplex Cinemas, with a sold-out crowd of art lovers and celebrities in attendance. The red-carpet event set the stage for an evening of celebration as members of the Mano Animation Studios team mingled with guests, sharing their passion for animation and film.

The Glassworker is a historic milestone for Pakistan’s film industry, marking the country’s first hand-drawn animated feature film. Directed by Usman Riaz, this cinematic masterpiece took a decade to bring to life, symbolizing the realization of a dream that pushes the boundaries of what is possible in Pakistani cinema.

The film has already made waves internationally, premiering at the prestigious Annecy International Film Festival and the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF). The Glassworker is now set to premiere in Japan at the Hiroshima Animation Festival.

The evening in Karachi opened with a heartfelt speech by the director and Mano co-founder Usman Riaz, leaving the audience in awe of the film’s quality, a testament to the incredible talent within Pakistan.

The movie enthralled the guests with the presentation impressing them with the story and the clear animation which became more impressive with the fact that each drawing was painstakingly made by hand and brought together for a smooth animated projection on screen. Thus, the long duration of the filmmaking process requiring a lot of patience from Usman Riaz who, understandably, became emotional during his speech at the premiere. But he was amply rewarded with the adulated reviews of the audience.

Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi at a press conference recently gave details to the media on ‘World Culture Festival Karachi.’ President Arts Council, Muhammad Ahmed Shah, along with renowned intellectual and humorist Anwar Maqsood, actor, theatre director Khalid Ahmed, Prof. Ejaz Ahmed Farooqi and Qudsia Akbar spoke on the occasion. Muhammad Ahmed Shah announced that the ‘World Culture Festival Karachi’ will begin on September 26th and continue till October 30th, 2024.

The festival will have more than 34 countries participating from around the world. The festival will feature more than 100 cultural performances by more than 350 artists, including theatre, music, dance groups, and fine arts from Pakistan and abroad. He further added that before the Aalmi Urdu Conference, the Arts Council usually hosts the Youth Festival, Theatre Festival, Music Festival and Dance Festival. However, this time, they are bringing the largest festival in Pakistan’s history, named the ‘World Culture Festival Karachi.’  He mentioned that during the last Pakistan Theatre Festival, seven countries participated, and although they initially planned to organize another Pakistan Theatre Festival, the overwhelming response from embassies and music and dance artists led them to expand the event into a World Culture Festival.

There would be a fusion of various music and dance forms from around the world, with workshops and talks alongside performances, open to Arts Council students and others through registration. He explained that all groups will perform with Arts Council students at various universities and communities. “Previously the artists found great joy in performing at all these locations. We will also showcase Pakistan’s folk music, theatre and dance,” Ahmed Shah revealed highlighting that Pakistan’s culture, artists, and heritage were rich, and the festival would also include qawwali and classical dance. Performances by Akhtar Chanal, Wahab Bugti, Mai Dhai, instrumentalist Abdullah, and Faqir Zulfiqar, as well as instruments like sarangi and flute were to be part of the festival aimed to create a universal music experience with international artists.  He also mentioned being in continuous contact with Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who has fully supported the festival and assured security arrangements. While there have been visa issues between India and Pakistan, efforts are being made to include as many artists from various countries as possible.

Renowned humorist and writer Anwar Maqsood remarked that just as Allama Iqbal had a dream, Ahmed Shah had a dream of bringing together 40 countries in one place, which is indeed a dream. “Ahmed Shah will make this happen, and this programme will surely be successful.” He noted that for 77 years, the nation has not been truly happy, but perhaps this festival will bring some joy. He was pleased that groups from Jaipur and Mumbai would be participating and that artists from all over the world are coming to this festival.

Theatre director Khalid Ahmed added that this festival is going to be a huge one. He expressed amazement at the scale of the festival, acknowledging that the challenges were not easy, but it was a great learning opportunity for students to understand how people think globally.

White Plague presents the contrasting ideologies of war-mongering dictators and empathetic healers, the current societal divides and the necessity for compassion and unity in today’s world

Theatre, a medium of art as old as time, still continues to serve as a powerful reflection of societal challenges, a fact evident from one of the recent theatrical productions being directed by award-winning filmmaker Meher Jaffri, called ‘The White Plague.’ Originally penned by the well-recognized Czech playwright Karel Capek in 1937, this timeless narrative has been masterfully adapted into a theatrical work and translated into Urdu by Bodhi Works, underscoring its universal relevance and enduring impact.

Set against the backdrop of war, disease and the enduring struggle for moral conscience, this the theatrical play, standing as a tribute to the indelible legacy of the artist Zia Mohyeddin, echoes the challenges of the current times. With the central characters in the play embodying the complexities of humanity, power, and compassion, the play presents the contrasting ideologies of war-mongering dictators and empathetic healers, the current societal divides and the necessity for compassion and unity in today’s world.

Speaking about what drew Meher Jaffri towards this project, she shared, “I remember reading about this play when I was 16 years old and I also performed on it in high school. Since then, it has always stuck with me. So, when COVID had happened in 2020, I felt the situation was somewhat similar to the theme of this play, even though it was written earlier. During COVID, masses had different opinions on what to do and what not to do. The play also explores the effects of a mysterious pandemic in everyday life of a common man and how everybody has a different opinion on what’s going on. Another thing that drew me to it was the prevailing situation in Gaza because I believe the play reflects whatever is happening around today. While essentially, it’s an anti-war play, it’s also about having a moral conscience to do the right thing in the face of difficult decisions.”

Blending humour and satire with a profound message in the play, Meher Jaffri aims to inspire audiences to take active roles in shaping a more just and compassionate world and realize that it is important to have the courage to overcome the feeling of hopelessness. Because in that courage and in that action of resisting against injustice, there’s a whole new world of impact that could happen. “Even just a sheer energy of putting your support behind something right is important. There might be times when things may seem hopeless, but that’s no excuse to be passive about what’s going on and about doing the right thing or speaking up against injustice. The world demands it right now. And there’s no excuse not to,” she emphasized.  

Meher Jaffri, as a director has diversified projects to her credit, but finds THE WHITE PLAGUE to be most rewarding work so far.