On the heels of the Asia TV Forum, Singapore based animation and VFX studio Robot Playground Media (RPM) officially greenlit production of the animated feature film The Violinist together with its Spain-based co-producer TV ON Producciones (TOP). This took place at a special presentation attended by the representatives of Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Spanish Embassy in Singapore.
The Violin is a story of courage and resilience, said RPM. It is set during the World War II-era Singapore and Malaya following two young violinists, Kai and Fei, whose dreams are shattered with the Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia. Kai abandons his music career to join the Resistance in Perak, Malaya, while Fei becomes a war survivor in Japan-occupied Singapore. Their lives take vastly different paths over the span of decades as they try to hold onto the promise of performing a 2-violin sonata together one day.
The 2D animated historical/romance/musical feature film is co-directed by RPM’s Ervin Han and Spanish animation veteran Raúl García with support from the IMDA and the IVC (Valencian Institute of Culture).
RPM has created an international production framework working with European and Asian talent with work split between Singapore and Spain, as well as Malaysia where animation studio Inspidea will undertake part of the production work. The film will be released in late 2025, which also marks the 80th year since the end of the second World War.
Co-director Han, who also co-wrote the screenplay said, “The film traverses eighty years of Singapore’s past, from our colonial days to the Japanese Occupation and the decades after. It’s a story of hope, courage, and conviction in turbulent times. It is not lost on Raúl and me that this remains a reality today in many parts of the world. Hopefully our film shines a light on the extraordinary courage of survivors in times of conflict and oppression.”
TV ON Producciones CEO Paloma Mora added, “The Violinist is a marvellous project and the perfect opportunity to create and consolidate bonds between Asia and Spain, a reference country in the international animation industry, by joining creative teams from both countries in all phases of production. We are delighted that our studio is co-producing a project directed by Raúl and Ervin and trust that The Violinist will undoubtedly be a success.”
“We are pleased to support RPM through its development and are deeply appreciative of the confidence that our international partners have in our local media enterprises. We are keenly looking forward to more global partnerships,” said IMDA media industry development director Chris Tan.
In development for seven years, The Violinist was first presented at the Southeast Asia Film Financing Forum in 2017 and was later selected for Annecy MIFA Pitches (2019) and Tokyo Gap-Financing Market (2023). It previously received funding support from the IMDA for its script development. The original story by Han is based on RPM’s award-winning animated short film, The Violinist, that was produced as part of the Singapore Memory Project to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s independence (SG50) in 2015.
Global IP and financing firm 108 Media is the primary financing studio for the film and holds worldwide rights (outside Spain) with Japan’s Throne also onboard as part of the executive producing pool. The feature film is produced by Justin Deimen, Bernard Toh (Singapore), Mora (Spain) and is executive produced by Abhi Rastogi and TakafumiYuki.