The recent Oscar longlisting of “The Glassworker,” a stunning hand-drawn film by Mano Animation Studios, is a landmark moment. It’s a testament to the incredible talent emerging from places the mainstream industry often overlooks. For ten years, they toiled without major studio support, building their own tools and training their own artists. Usman Riaz and team proved that excellence doesn’t need permission – it just needs passion and unrelenting dedication.

This story resonates deeply with me. 25 years ago, I embarked on my own journey with a piecemeal computer and a head full of dreams. No fancy degree, no industry connections – just countless nights fueled by determination and the lessons learned from every crash and failed render. Back then, creating animation in an emerging market wasn’t just difficult; it was considered delusional.

See, major studios don’t just dominate the market; they dictate what stories are “worthy.” Try adding elements from your culture, and suddenly you’re “too niche.” Stick to “universal” themes, and you’re “not authentic enough.” It’s a game rigged against outsiders.

But this lack of support fuels a different kind of fire. When you have no safety net, no infrastructure, you learn to build your own. Every limitation becomes a challenge to overcome, every closed door an opportunity to forge a new path.

This means:
– Learning from YouTube tutorials at 3 AM
– Building equipment from whatever’s available
– Mastering software through pure trial and error
– Creating entire production pipelines from scratch
– Turning “it can’t be done” into “watch me do it anyway”

Over the last 25 years, I’ve built my own path in animation and helped others do the same. I had the privilege of working on “Burka Avenger,” a groundbreaking series spearheaded by Aaron Haroon Rashid. Aaron taught me a ton about bringing a project to completion, and the grit it takes to produce a finished product. I’ve also seen friends like Zeeshan Karimi, animation director on the hit film “The Donkey King,” achieve incredible success.

After helping multiple studios grow from nothing, I’ve noticed a pattern: the most innovative solutions often come from places with the fewest resources. When you can’t throw money at problems, you have to think your way around them.

🇳🇬The Nigerian filmmaker editing on a crashing laptop
🇧🇷 The Indonesian animator learning through pirated software
🇮🇩 The Brazilian creator crafting stories between power outages

The next wave of global storytellers won’t come from the usual places or follow the usual rules. They’ll come from wherever passion meets persistence, from wherever creativity refuses to be limited by circumstances.

That’s why “The Glassworker’s” Oscar nomination matters. Because it shows every outsider creator that their dreams aren’t delusions – they’re dreams waiting to be fulfilled.

Keep creating. Keep pushing. Keep proving them wrong.