The Violinist

The Violinist
Directed byErvin Han
Raúl García
Written byErvin Han
Jordan Katherine See
StarringTan Kheng Hua
Ayden Sng
Fang Rong
Adrian Pang
Tanabe Kazuya
Enrique Arce
Music by
  • Ricky Ho
  • Isabel Latorre
Production
companies
  • Robot Playground Media
  • TV ON Producciones
  • Altri Occhi
Distributed by
Release dates
  • June 2026 (2026-06) (Annecy)
  • 17 September 2026 (2026-09-17) (Singapore)
  • 13 November 2026 (2026-11-13) (Spain)
Running time
95 minutes
Countries
  • Singapore
  • Spain
  • Italy
LanguageEnglish

The Violinist is a 2026 animated period drama film. The film spans eight decades of Singaporean history, following two musically gifted childhood friends in colonial Singapore whose lives are upended by World War II and the subsequent Japanese occupation. It was directed by Ervin Han and Raúl García.

Production

The Violinist is a three-way multinational co-production between Singapore's Robot Playground Media, Spain's TV ON Producciones, and Italy's Altri Occhi.

Release

France TV Distribution handled international sales. The film world premiered at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it won the Best Film category.

Following its Gala Premiere at the Capitol Theatre on 3 September 2026, The Violinist was released nationwide in Singapore cinemas on 17 September 2026. It was presented in competition at the 71st Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci) on 26 October 2026. Wanda Visión is scheduled to release theatrically the film in Spain on 13 November 2026.

Reception

Wendy Ide of ScreenDaily deemed the film to be an "unapologetically old-fashioned and extremely sincere blend of melodrama and wartime thriller".

Accolades

Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
2026
 2026 Annecy International Animation Film FestivalCristal For Best FilmWon
19th Asia Pacific Screen AwardsBest Animated FilmWon
17th Hollywood Music in Media AwardsBest Original Score — Animated FilmRicky HoPending
9th Lola Gaos Awards Best Animation FilmPending
Best Original ScoreIsabel Latorre Sáez, Ricky HoPending

Reactions

During the National Day Rally 2026, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong commended the producer/director Ervin Han's perseverance in producing this film over a decade without giving up despite multiple setbacks. He also announced that Ervin had 'done Singapore proud' for being the first Singaporean production that won the top prize at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Cao Zhongming was invited by Singaporean Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao to the Mandarin-language premiere of The Violinist in Singapore. He described the film as having "a moving story, sincere emotions, and delicate execution", adding that its background music was "particularly well-produced and impressive".

See also

References

  1. ↑ Namachandran, Raman (28 June 2026). "'The Violinist' Won the Annecy Cristal – and Its Directors Say Southeast Asia's Animation Deserves a Global Audience". Variety.
  2. 1 2 Lemercier, Fabien (29 June 2026). "The Violinist triumphs at Annecy". Cineuropa. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  3. ↑ Soh, Joanne (1 July 2026). "Could award-winning animated film The Violinist be Singapore's first true Oscar contender?". The Straits Times.
  4. ↑ "Review: The Violinist". Cineuropa. 23 June 2026. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Annecy film festival unveils 2026 winners". Screen. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (27 June 2026). "Singapore Period Drama 'The Violinist' Wins Annecy". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (28 June 2026). "'The Violinist' Won the Annecy Cristal – and Its Directors Say Southeast Asia's Animation Deserves a Global Audience". Variety. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "InCinemas SG". InCinemas SG. Retrieved 12 October 2026.
  9. ↑ Belinchón, Gregorio (27 October 2026). "'La violinista': la película española que ganó en Annecy es un canto al amor y a la música en tiempos de guerra". El País (in European Spanish). Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  10. ↑ "Wanda Visión estrenará el 13 de noviembre en España 'La violinista', la película de animación de Raúl García y Ervin Han". Audiovisual451 (in European Spanish). 31 August 2026. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
  11. ↑ Ide, Wendy (29 June 2026). "'The Violinist' review: Annecy Cristal winner is sedate, traditional Singapore-set animation". ScreenDaily.
  12. ↑ Dalton, Ben (27 June 2026). "'The Violinist', 'Iron Boy' lead Annecy film festival 2026 winners". ScreenDaily.
  13. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (31 October 2026). "Georgia's 'Guria' Wins Best Film at Asia Pacific Screen Awards as Thailand's Sompot Chidgasornpongse Takes Director Prize". Variety. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  14. ↑ Grein, Paul (2 November 2026). "Taylor Swift & Jack Antonoff, Ludwig Göransson Nominated for Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Full List". Billboard. Retrieved 2 November 2026.
  15. ↑ Jabato, Luisa N. (20 October 2026). "'Enjambre', de Óscar Bernàcer, lidera las nominaciones de la IX edición de los Premios Lola Gaos". Kinótico (in European Spanish). Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  16. ↑ "National Day Rally 2026". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  17. ↑ Cao, Zhongming (12 September 2026). "中国驻新加坡大使曹忠明 Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Cao Zhongming". Facebook. Retrieved 22 September 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)