Annecy Winner 'The Violinist' Was Born From a TIFFCOM Handshake

Ervin Han's "The Violinist" won the top prize at France's Annecy International Animation Film Festival this year. Its Italian co-producers entered the project through a single meeting at TIFFCOM in 2023, the Singaporean filmmaker told a panel at the Tokyo market.

Han, co-founder and CEO of Singapore's Robot Playground Media, spoke at "Anime's New Frontier: Structuring & Financing International Co-Productions," a session at TIFFCOM, the content market of the Tokyo International Film Festival. Kawano Masao, program manager at Into Global, moderated.

The panel agreed on one point: international anime co-productions work best when overseas partners come in early, with financing, deal structures and rights management considered from development through release.

How did the Italians come aboard?

Han co-directed and produced "The Violinist." On his first TIFFCOM visit, he met Italian producer Cristiano Bortone and his team at Altri Occhi. They later joined the film as co-producers. A market booth conversation, in other words, turned into an Annecy trophy.

This year Han returned as producer to pitch "A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts," an animated feature about food, horror and temptation, with partners from Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and Ireland.

Han described "The Violinist" as a story of friendship over a decade. The film itself also took 10 years from conception to completion. "With different roles in my projects, I find promotion is even more challenging than production," he said.

What do French rules offer co-producers?

Ilan Urroz, CEO of France's Foliascope, said co-production itself was nothing new. He stressed the importance of platform partnerships and pointed to France's investment obligations for streaming services.

Under French rules, streamers must put at least 20% of the revenue they earn in France into European or French-language original film and audiovisual production. The share rises to 25% for some services that offer films within 12 months of their theatrical release. The rule applies to animation as well as other genres. Urroz named Netflix, Disney+, Crunchyroll, Prime Video and HBO Max as the leading platforms in France.

That regime makes France one of the more bankable territories for animated co-production financing — a structured pool of money, not a grant writer's lottery.

What holds a partnership together?

Sakurai Taiki, CEO of Salamander Inc., drew on more than 25 years in anime and over 100 titles to stress the importance of people and talent. "Partners are the key to success," he said.

Asked how to find co-production partners, Urroz said: "Be creative, and don't forget that every project is also a journey of a group of people."

The evidence from the stage was consistent. "The Violinist" took a decade, one Singaporean studio and an Italian co-producer met at a Tokyo market to reach Annecy's top prize. Han's next pitch, "A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts," already carries partners from four territories, suggesting the TIFFCOM handshake remains the working model for cross-border anime financing.