“My career has been defined by my ability to say ‘Why not?’”
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, CEO, SOC Films, speaks to Aurora about empowering the women of Pakistan and the passion that drives her career as a filmmaker.
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A Portrayal Drawn in Music
At the age of five, Usman Riaz was already playing his grandmother’s harmonium with an extraordinary deftness that left his family at a loss for words. Recognising his talent, his parents enrolled him in classical piano lessons. And thus began the story of Usman Riaz.
“We all grew up under the shade of Dada Mamu”, says Riaz, alluding to the scale of Zia Mohyeddin’s influence on his family. “I was lucky to be born into a creative and artistic family.” Given that his great-grandfather was a music professor and violinist, his grandmother a classically trained singer, his father an actor and his mother an artist, he faced no resistance in his decision to pursue his dreams.
“I have been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil; in fact, longer than I have been playing music.” It is one of the reasons why he was so drawn to animation, and in a way, filmmaking combines all his passions – storytelling, drawing and music. “I still find it difficult to believe I have made a feature film. It’s strange because I am such a fan of film, and now I have my own, and that’s a special feeling.”
It was a viewing of Disney’s The Lion King that altered the course of his life. “I was only three when I watched it, but I remember how the colours and vividness spoke to me.” Later, he would go on to watch Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke, a seminal film that further entrenched him in the world of hand-drawn animation. “I have been obsessing over Hayao Miyazaki’s work ever since, and Studio Ghibli put me on the path I am on now.”
Learning to play the piano at a young age helped him develop a deep understanding of classical music, allowing him to co-compose the score for The Glassworker with his friend, Carmine Diflorio. He also plays the guitar, and it was his dexterity in percussive guitar that paved his way to TED.
“When I look back, it feels as though I have been on a path, but in the moment everything just felt extremely organic.”
After finishing school, he joined the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture as an illustration and graphic design major, where he spent two and a half years before being selected for the TED Fellowship and embarking on a world tour. At a Google conference during his fellowship with TED, he was approached by the Berklee College of Music’s dean of admissions and offered a scholarship. He studied at Berklee for two years before setting off on a TED trip to Japan, where he was invited to speak about his animation work.
In Japan, Riaz visited animation studios, including “my favourite animation studio in the world” – Studio Ghibli – an experience he describes as “magical.” He was fortunate enough to observe Miyazaki and describes being able to study the maestro at work as “a spiritual experience. I cried a lot during that trip; I felt like I was meant to be there and see those things.”
After a period of vacillation, he made the difficult decision of withdrawing from Berklee to pursue his dream of filmmaking and animation. “I am a two-time university dropout,” he admits with a smile.
“It was scary dropping out of Berklee because I had a full scholarship and I didn’t want to be ungrateful, but I had to follow my instincts and my heart.”
It was during a trip to the Murano glass factory in Italy that he conceived the initial idea for The Glassworker. “It was such an eye-opening experience. I had no choice but to pocket the visual.” In 2013, he began writing and conceptualising a few stories, The Glassworker being one of them. He eventually settled on a film that married elements of glassblowing with violin music, thinking that it would be less ambitious. “I was naive,” he laughs, “it turned out to be extremely difficult.”
In 2015, he formed Mano Animation Studios with his wife, Mariam Riaz Paracha. Modelling his approach to Japanese filmmakers like Miyazaki and Mamoru Hosoda, he started by drawing the storyboard for the entire film. “I knew exactly what I wanted and how long each scene had to be. I drew a whole comic book of the movie.”
As a graduate of the Miyazaki school of thought, he was careful to take a staunch anti-war stance in the film. “I was really drawn to the metaphor of a glass shop during wartime,” emphasising his decision to layer themes of vulnerability against violence.
The anti-war message is also close to his heart, and a significant theme in the film is how war results in the destruction of relationships and contributes to anxiety. “If children can grasp these concepts, I think I have done a decent job.” He also drew from the concept of unattainable love, a hallmark of Urdu shayari, when he wrote the love story of Vincent and Alliz, the two protagonists. On this score, he cites David Lean’s Dr Zhivago as a major influence. “I really wanted to encapsulate an old-timey and romantic Hollywood feel in the film.”
While working on the film, Riaz opted for a rather unusual setup – a piano positioned at the rear of his animation desk. “I would draw and then swivel my chair to play something on the piano.” Working this way allowed the music and visuals to interact from the film’s embryonic stages.
“Often, the music pulled me in directions that informed the visuals.”
To consistently work on one project requires grit and perseverance – the work had to be done even when Riaz didn’t feel like it because there was a schedule to adhere to. “I am very disciplined when it comes to my work – just not when it comes to life.” He admits that sometimes he was swallowed by “the enormity of the task” but propelled to continue by faith and that “this film was made purely on stubbornness.” Directing the film was akin to conducting an orchestra and he felt like he was reprising his role as a conductor at Berklee. As the conductor, he embodied the qualities of a metronome and artfully staggered the pulse of music, allowing every section to shine, from the woodwinds to the percussion.
Emerging from the cave of creation once the film was released was like exiting a “bizarre black hole.” And, having been so completely submerged in the project, Riaz sacrificed a great deal of himself to ensure the film’s completion. Slowly and surely, he is finding himself again and hopes to cork that “feeling of the world having changed around me but me staying the same.”
There are many things to look forward to concerning The Glassworker, especially since it is in the running for Best International Feature Film and Best Animated Feature Film as Pakistan’s official submission to the 97th Academy Awards, but Riaz is eagerly anticipating his “long holiday” – an indulgence he has forfeited for a decade.
At only 33, Usman Riaz stands before us as the director, lead animator and co-composer of Pakistan’s first hand-drawn animated film, in his all-black ensemble and signature scarf styled with a Parisian knot at the neck.
Photos: Mano Animation Studios
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After finishing school, he joined the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture as an illustration and graphic design major, where he spent two and a half years before being selected for the TED Fellowship and embarking on a world tour. At a Google conference during his fellowship with TED, he was approached by the Berklee College of Music’s dean of admissions and offered a scholarship. He studied at Berklee for two years before setting off on a TED trip to Japan, where he was invited to speak about his animation work.
In Japan, Riaz visited animation studios, including “my favourite animation studio in the world” – Studio Ghibli – an experience he describes as “magical.” He was fortunate enough to observe Miyazaki and describes being able to study the maestro at work as “a spiritual experience. I cried a lot during that trip; I felt like I was meant to be there and see those things.”
After a period of vacillation, he made the difficult decision of withdrawing from Berklee to pursue his dream of filmmaking and animation. “I am a two-time university dropout,” he admits with a smile.
“It was scary dropping out of Berklee because I had a full scholarship and I didn’t want to be ungrateful, but I had to follow my instincts and my heart.”
It was during a trip to the Murano glass factory in Italy that he conceived the initial idea for The Glassworker. “It was such an eye-opening experience. I had no choice but to pocket the visual.” In 2013, he began writing and conceptualising a few stories, The Glassworker being one of them. He eventually settled on a film that married elements of glassblowing with violin music, thinking that it would be less ambitious. “I was naive,” he laughs, “it turned out to be extremely difficult.”
In 2015, he formed Mano Animation Studios with his wife, Mariam Riaz Paracha. Modelling his approach to Japanese filmmakers like Miyazaki and Mamoru Hosoda, he started by drawing the storyboard for the entire film. “I knew exactly what I wanted and how long each scene had to be. I drew a whole comic book of the movie.”
As a graduate of the Miyazaki school of thought, he was careful to take a staunch anti-war stance in the film. “I was really drawn to the metaphor of a glass shop during wartime,” emphasising his decision to layer themes of vulnerability against violence.
The anti-war message is also close to his heart, and a significant theme in the film is how war results in the destruction of relationships and contributes to anxiety. “If children can grasp these concepts, I think I have done a decent job.” He also drew from the concept of unattainable love, a hallmark of Urdu shayari, when he wrote the love story of Vincent and Alliz, the two protagonists. On this score, he cites David Lean’s Dr Zhivago as a major influence. “I really wanted to encapsulate an old-timey and romantic Hollywood feel in the film.”
While working on the film, Riaz opted for a rather unusual setup – a piano positioned at the rear of his animation desk. “I would draw and then swivel my chair to play something on the piano.” Working this way allowed the music and visuals to interact from the film’s embryonic stages.
“Often, the music pulled me in directions that informed the visuals.”
To consistently work on one project requires grit and perseverance – the work had to be done even when Riaz didn’t feel like it because there was a schedule to adhere to. “I am very disciplined when it comes to my work – just not when it comes to life.” He admits that sometimes he was swallowed by “the enormity of the task” but propelled to continue by faith and that “this film was made purely on stubbornness.” Directing the film was akin to conducting an orchestra and he felt like he was reprising his role as a conductor at Berklee. As the conductor, he embodied the qualities of a metronome and artfully staggered the pulse of music, allowing every section to shine, from the woodwinds to the percussion.
Emerging from the cave of creation once the film was released was like exiting a “bizarre black hole.” And, having been so completely submerged in the project, Riaz sacrificed a great deal of himself to ensure the film’s completion. Slowly and surely, he is finding himself again and hopes to cork that “feeling of the world having changed around me but me staying the same.”
There are many things to look forward to concerning The Glassworker, especially since it is in the running for Best International Feature Film and Best Animated Feature Film as Pakistan’s official submission to the 97th Academy Awards, but Riaz is eagerly anticipating his “long holiday” – an indulgence he has forfeited for a decade.
At only 33, Usman Riaz stands before us as the director, lead animator and co-composer of Pakistan’s first hand-drawn animated film, in his all-black ensemble and signature scarf styled with a Parisian knot at the neck.
Photos: Mano Animation Studios
Read Comments
Related Stories
It was during a trip to the Murano glass factory in Italy that he conceived the initial idea for The Glassworker. “It was such an eye-opening experience. I had no choice but to pocket the visual.” In 2013, he began writing and conceptualising a few stories, The Glassworker being one of them. He eventually settled on a film that married elements of glassblowing with violin music, thinking that it would be less ambitious. “I was naive,” he laughs, “it turned out to be extremely difficult.”
In 2015, he formed Mano Animation Studios with his wife, Mariam Riaz Paracha. Modelling his approach to Japanese filmmakers like Miyazaki and Mamoru Hosoda, he started by drawing the storyboard for the entire film. “I knew exactly what I wanted and how long each scene had to be. I drew a whole comic book of the movie.”
As a graduate of the Miyazaki school of thought, he was careful to take a staunch anti-war stance in the film. “I was really drawn to the metaphor of a glass shop during wartime,” emphasising his decision to layer themes of vulnerability against violence.
The anti-war message is also close to his heart, and a significant theme in the film is how war results in the destruction of relationships and contributes to anxiety. “If children can grasp these concepts, I think I have done a decent job.” He also drew from the concept of unattainable love, a hallmark of Urdu shayari, when he wrote the love story of Vincent and Alliz, the two protagonists. On this score, he cites David Lean’s Dr Zhivago as a major influence. “I really wanted to encapsulate an old-timey and romantic Hollywood feel in the film.”
While working on the film, Riaz opted for a rather unusual setup – a piano positioned at the rear of his animation desk. “I would draw and then swivel my chair to play something on the piano.” Working this way allowed the music and visuals to interact from the film’s embryonic stages.
“Often, the music pulled me in directions that informed the visuals.”
To consistently work on one project requires grit and perseverance – the work had to be done even when Riaz didn’t feel like it because there was a schedule to adhere to. “I am very disciplined when it comes to my work – just not when it comes to life.” He admits that sometimes he was swallowed by “the enormity of the task” but propelled to continue by faith and that “this film was made purely on stubbornness.” Directing the film was akin to conducting an orchestra and he felt like he was reprising his role as a conductor at Berklee. As the conductor, he embodied the qualities of a metronome and artfully staggered the pulse of music, allowing every section to shine, from the woodwinds to the percussion.
Emerging from the cave of creation once the film was released was like exiting a “bizarre black hole.” And, having been so completely submerged in the project, Riaz sacrificed a great deal of himself to ensure the film’s completion. Slowly and surely, he is finding himself again and hopes to cork that “feeling of the world having changed around me but me staying the same.”
There are many things to look forward to concerning The Glassworker, especially since it is in the running for Best International Feature Film and Best Animated Feature Film as Pakistan’s official submission to the 97th Academy Awards, but Riaz is eagerly anticipating his “long holiday” – an indulgence he has forfeited for a decade.
At only 33, Usman Riaz stands before us as the director, lead animator and co-composer of Pakistan’s first hand-drawn animated film, in his all-black ensemble and signature scarf styled with a Parisian knot at the neck.
Photos: Mano Animation Studios
Read Comments
Related Stories
To consistently work on one project requires grit and perseverance – the work had to be done even when Riaz didn’t feel like it because there was a schedule to adhere to. “I am very disciplined when it comes to my work – just not when it comes to life.” He admits that sometimes he was swallowed by “the enormity of the task” but propelled to continue by faith and that “this film was made purely on stubbornness.” Directing the film was akin to conducting an orchestra and he felt like he was reprising his role as a conductor at Berklee. As the conductor, he embodied the qualities of a metronome and artfully staggered the pulse of music, allowing every section to shine, from the woodwinds to the percussion.
Emerging from the cave of creation once the film was released was like exiting a “bizarre black hole.” And, having been so completely submerged in the project, Riaz sacrificed a great deal of himself to ensure the film’s completion. Slowly and surely, he is finding himself again and hopes to cork that “feeling of the world having changed around me but me staying the same.”
There are many things to look forward to concerning The Glassworker, especially since it is in the running for Best International Feature Film and Best Animated Feature Film as Pakistan’s official submission to the 97th Academy Awards, but Riaz is eagerly anticipating his “long holiday” – an indulgence he has forfeited for a decade.
At only 33, Usman Riaz stands before us as the director, lead animator and co-composer of Pakistan’s first hand-drawn animated film, in his all-black ensemble and signature scarf styled with a Parisian knot at the neck.
Photos: Mano Animation Studios