Singapore-led animated feature The Violinist has been nominated for Best Animated Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Film Score at the 63rd Golden Horse Awards, marking another major international milestone for the film following its historic double win at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival earlier this year and being part of the 2026 Centrepiece programme at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). The Violinist is supported by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
Established in 1962, the Golden Horse Awards are among the most prestigious and long-standing honours in Chinese-language cinema, recognising excellence across filmmaking, performance and technical craft. The nomination for Best Animated Feature places The Violinist among the region’s standout animated works, building on a landmark year for the Singapore-led production. The recognition is particularly significant for a film rooted in
Singapore’s history and identity, demonstrating how locally originated stories can resonate with audiences and industry peers beyond Singapore. The 63rd Golden Horse Awards will take place on 22 November 2026 at the Taipei Music Centre in Taipei.
Directed by Singaporean filmmaker Ervin Han and Spanish filmmaker Raúl García, The Violinist is a 114-minute animated historical drama spanning colonial Singapore, the Japanese Occupation and the decades that follow. Centred on childhood friends Fei and Kai, the film explores love, memory, identity and resilience through their enduring connection to music. The Best Adapted Screenplay nomination recognises the feature’s adaptation of Han’s 2015 animated short, The Violin. The feature expands the original short into a historical drama spanning decades.
Ervin Han, Co-Director and Co-Writer of The Violinist, says, “The support the film has received at home and internationally has been incredibly meaningful to us. The Violinist has always been a Singapore story at its heart, and being recognised by the Golden Horse Awards is an honour for everyone who helped bring it to life. We hope these nominations continue to show that stories originating from Singapore can connect with audiences well beyond our shores.”
Yvonne Tang, Assistant Chief Executive, Media Industry Group, IMDA, also says, “The Violinist’s Golden Horse nominations recognise the storytelling and craft of its Singapore-led creative team. Building on its achievements at Annecy, the film demonstrates the growing capabilities of Singapore’s animation industry. We hope this recognition encourages more creators to develop original stories rooted in our culture and experiences and for more Singaporeans to support this film.”
The Nomination for Best Original Film Score recognises the music at the heart of The Violinist. Golden Horse Award-winning Singaporean composer Ricky Ho leads the original score, in collaboration with Spanish composer Isabel Latorre, with Singaporean violinist Joy Yong performing the lead violin parts. Blending classical influences with original compositions, the score anchors the film’s emotional journey and themes of memory and connection.
For Ho, the nomination marks a return to the Golden Horse Awards. He previously won Best Original Film Score at the 48th Golden Horse Awards in 2011 for Taiwanese historical epic Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale, alongside multiple nominations throughout his career. The project also marks Ho’s return to scoring a Singapore feature after a period of working extensively across regional and international productions, adding further significance to his collaboration with the Singapore-led creative team behind The Violinist.
Ricky Ho, Composer of The Violinist, says, “Music is inseparable from the story of The Violinist. It carries the characters through different periods of their lives and gives voice to emotions that cannot always be expressed through dialogue. To have the score recognised by the Golden Horse Awards again, this time through a film so deeply connected to Singapore, makes this nomination particularly meaningful to me.”
Joy Yong, Lead Violinist of The Violinist, also said: “One line from the film that really
resonated with me was, ‘the violin is the closest sound to the human voice.’ When I heard that, I
immediately connected with what the film was trying to express through music, and I knew this
was a project I wanted to be part of.”
The Violinist joins a history of Singapore films and filmmakers recognised at the Golden Horse Awards. Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo won four awards in 2013, including Best Feature Film and Best New Director, while Singaporean actress Yeo Yann Yann won Best Supporting Actress for the film. Earlier, Megan Zheng became the first Singaporean Golden Horse winner when she received Best New Performer for Homerun in 2003. More recently, Singaporean filmmaker Chiang Wei Liang won Best New Director for Mongrel at the 61st Golden Horse Awards in
2024.
An official Singapore-Spain-Italy co-production, The Violinist is led by Singapore’s Robot Playground Media, in collaboration with Spain’s TV ON Producciones and Italy’s Altri Occhi. The production brings together creative talent across Singapore and Europe, reflecting Singapore-led productions’ growing ability to develop ambitious stories for international audiences.
Following its world premiere at Annecy, The Violinist opened in Singapore cinemas on 17 September 2026.
