SINGAPORE — Singaporean actress Yeo Yann Yann is back on the international awards circuit, earning a Best Performance nomination at the 19th Asia Pacific Screen Awards for her role in We Are All Strangers.
At the same time, The Violinist, a Singapore-Spain-Italy animated feature directed by Ervin Han and Raúl García, has been nominated for Best Animated Film, giving Singapore two particularly notable entries in this year’s APSA lineup.
The nominations are significant for Singapore cinema because they arrive during a particularly strong year for local films, with both productions already attracting international attention.
YEO YANN YANN IS IN THE BEST PERFORMANCE RACE
Yeo is nominated alongside four other performers:
- Virginie Efira and Okamoto Tao — All of a Sudden
- Anwar Hashimi — No Good Men
- Pushpa Thing Lama — Elephants in the Fog
- Ghassan Saad — Pipes
- Yeo Yann Yann — We Are All Strangers
The APSA Best Performance category is gender-neutral, meaning performers compete in a single acting category rather than separate male and female awards.
For Yeo, the nomination adds another international milestone to a career that has become closely associated with some of Singapore’s most acclaimed films.
Her latest film, We Are All Strangers, is directed by Anthony Chen, the filmmaker behind Ilo Ilo and Wet Season. It reunites Yeo with Koh Jia Ler as part of Chen’s “Growing Up” trilogy.
A STORY ABOUT FAMILY, RESPONSIBILITY AND GROWING UP
We Are All Strangers is set in contemporary Singapore and follows 21-year-old Junyang as he confronts an unexpected life-changing situation with his girlfriend.
At the same time, his father struggles to hold their modest family life together while a new relationship changes the family’s dynamics.
The film explores love, responsibility, family and the complicated transition into adulthood—themes that have become hallmarks of Chen’s filmmaking.
The film made its world premiere at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival, where it became the first Singaporean film to compete for the Golden Bear, before continuing its international festival journey.
THEN THERE’S “THE VIOLINIST”
While Yeo’s nomination is attracting attention in the acting category, Singapore’s other major contender could be one of the most intriguing films in the entire animation lineup.
The Violinist has been nominated for Best Animated Film.
The five films competing in the category are:
- Light Pillar — China
- Magic Atlas — Singapore
- A Mighty Adventure — Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong
- The Violinist — Singapore, Spain, Italy
- Zsazsa Zaturnnah — Philippines, France
The film is directed by Ervin Han and Raúl García and produced through a Singapore-Spain-Italy collaboration.
A VIOLIN. A WAR. DECADES OF MEMORY.
The Violinist follows childhood friends Fei and Kai, whose shared love of music binds them together before the Second World War and Japanese Occupation tear their lives apart.
Set across the changing landscape of Singapore and Southeast Asia, the story follows Fei’s devotion to music and her decades-long connection to a violin that becomes a symbol of memory, love and loss.
The film runs for 114 minutes and is a hand-drawn animated feature.
It is also already an award winner.
At the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, The Violinist won the prestigious Cristal Award for Best Feature Film as well as the SACEM Award for Best Original Soundtrack.
That makes its APSA nomination another major step in an already remarkable international festival journey.
FROM ANNECY TO TORONTO—AND NOW THE ASIA-PACIFIC AWARDS
The film’s international momentum has continued beyond Annecy.
It has been selected for the Toronto International Film Festival, while its Singapore theatrical release is scheduled for Sept. 17, 2026.
CNA previously reported on The Violinist after its selection for the Annecy competition, describing it as a Singapore-produced historical drama set in Singapore and Malaya.
The film’s recognition is particularly notable because it represents a collaboration between Singaporean and European filmmakers while telling a story deeply rooted in the region.
SINGAPORE’S APSA SHOWING GOES BEYOND TWO FILMS
The country’s presence at APSA 2026 extends beyond Yeo and The Violinist.
Singapore-linked productions also appear in several other categories.
“9 Temples to Heaven”, a Thailand-Singapore-France-Norway-China-Hong Kong-Indonesia-Qatar production, is nominated for Best Film and its director Sompot Chidgasornpongse is nominated for Best Director.
Singapore-linked productions also feature in the Best Cinematography category, including Four Seasons in Java, Hearing and The Burning Giants.
That broad representation demonstrates that Singapore’s influence at APSA is not limited to one genre or one filmmaker.
A MAJOR YEAR FOR SINGAPOREAN CINEMA
The nominations come during a year in which Singaporean films have been making a stronger international impression.
The Violinist has already demonstrated that a locally produced animated feature can compete—and win—at one of the world’s major animation festivals.
Meanwhile, We Are All Strangers has placed a contemporary Singapore family story on the international festival circuit.
The combination is striking: one film looks back through history, war and music; the other examines modern family life and the pressures of adulthood.
Both are now competing on the same prestigious Asia-Pacific awards stage.
WHEN WILL THE WINNERS BE ANNOUNCED?
The 19th Asia Pacific Screen Awards ceremony will take place on Oct. 30, 2026, at The Star Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. The Asia Pacific Screen Forum is scheduled for Oct. 28–30.
The awards recognise cinematic achievements across the Asia-Pacific region, with categories including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Performance, Best Animated Film, Best Documentary Film and Best Youth Film.
This year’s APSA lineup features films representing a remarkably broad range of countries and filmmaking cultures, with the Academy highlighting the increasing number of international collaborations behind the nominated productions.
THE BIG QUESTION FOR SINGAPORE
Yeo Yann Yann now has another opportunity to add a major international acting honour to her résumé.
And The Violinist enters the Best Animated Film race with something equally powerful behind it: momentum.
It already has an Annecy Cristal and a SACEM award. Now it faces another international test.
So the question is no longer whether Singaporean films can make noise beyond the island.
The question is: how many more awards will Singapore bring home before this extraordinary 2026 cinema run is over?
Leave a Reply