Singapore’s The Violinist Wins Top Prize at Annecy Animation Festival

TLDR: Ervin Han and Raul Garcia’s animated feature, The Violinist, from Singapore, wins the Cristal Award for Best Feature 2026.

A Historic Win for Hand-Drawn Feature

The Violinist, a hand-drawn animated feature from Singapore, has won the prestigious Cristal Award for Best Feature at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

Directed by Ervin Han and Raúl García, the film also made history as the first Singaporean feature to compete in Annecy’s main competition.

The period drama follows two childhood friends and gifted violinists whose lifelong bond is torn apart by war and the Japanese occupation. Spanning the history of Singapore and Malaya from 1929 to the present day.

The film was produced by Robot Playground Media alongside Spain’s TV ON Producciones and Italy’s Altri Occhi.

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Other Major Winners at the Annecy Festival

French animated dramedy Blaise, directed by Dimitri Planchon and Jean-Paul Guigue, received the Grande Prix in the Contrechamp competition. Originally adapted from an Arte television series, the film follows a shy teenager navigating life within his unconventional family.

Japanese filmmaker Yoshitoshi Shinomiya won the Contrechamp Jury Award for A New Dawn, while television honours went to preschool series The Great Dreamscape and the Japanese anime Takopi’s Original Sin.