^{Credit: The Violinist (Robot Playground Media, TV ON Producciones, Altri Occhi), Iron Boy (Sony Pictures Classics)}

The Violinist has won the Cristal for Best Feature at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Set over eight decades, the film follows a reporter as they unravel the mystery of a renowned violinist whose story weaves together love, war, and, of course, music. With production spanning Asia and Europe, Ervin Han (co-founder of Singapore's Robot Playground Media) and Raúl García (whose lengthy résumé includes several 90s Disney Renaissance productions) directed The Violinist. In the Official Competition, The Violinist triumphed over the likes of Decorado, In Waves, Iron Boy, Lucy Lost, Nobody, The Sunrise File, Tana, Tangles, Viva Carmen, and We Are Aliens.

Although it didn't win the Cristal, Iron Boy didn't go home empty-handed. It won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution, the Jury Prize, and the Audience Award for Best Feature. Louis Clichy's film previously won a Special Jury Prize at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section. Sony Pictures Classics has picked up Iron Boy for U.S. distribution. Dimitri Planchon and Jean-Paul Guigue's Blaise, another film that played at Cannes earlier this year, took home the Contrechamp Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Yoshitoshi Shinomiya's A New Dawn won the Contrechamp Jury Award. Alberto Vazquez's Decorado also received the Paul Grimault Award. 

In the short films category, Don Hertzfeldt's Paper Trail won the Cristal while Jocelyn Charles' God Is Shy won the Audience Award. Both have now qualified for Best Animated Short consideration at the 99th Academy Awards. Of course, Paper Trailer already qualified with its wins at the SXSW Film Festival and the San Francisco International Film Festival. God Is Shy also previously picked up multiple Oscar-qualifying awards, including Best Animated Short at the Raindance Film Festival and the Golden Firebird Award at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. 

On the feature front, last year's Arco and Little Amélie or the Character of Rain both won top prizes at Annecy on their way to achieving Best Animated Feature nominations. So did Memoir of a Snail and the Oscar-winning Flow the year before that. The Violinist and Iron Boy could be on a path to Oscar nominations as well. While Iron Boy is expected to debut in the U.S. by the end of the year, The Violinist doesn't currently have a North American distributor. With its surprise win at Annecy, though, U.S. distributors will likely be seeking its acquisition in what's becoming a highly competitive year for animation. 

Check out the full list of 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival winners below:

Feature Film:

Cristal For a Feature Film
The Violinist, Ervin Han, Raúl García (Throne Inc., Robot Playground Media, TV ON Producciones, Altri Occhi/Singapore, Spain, Italy)

Jury Award
Iron Boy, Louis Clichy (Eddy Cinéma, Beside Productions/France, Belgium)

Paul Grimault Award 
Decorado, Alberto Vázquez (UniKo, Abano Producións The Glow Animation Studio, Sardinha em Lata/Spain, Portugal)     

Gan Foundation Award For Distribution
Iron Boy

Audience Award
Iron Boy

Contrechamp Features:

Grand Prix
Blaise Dimitri Planchon and Jean-Paul Guige (KG Productions/France)

Jury Award
A New Dawn, (Asmik Ace, Miyu Productions/Japan, France)

Short Films:

Cristal For a Short Film
Paper Trail, Don Hertzfeldt (U.S.)

Jury Award
God Is Shy, Jocelyn Charles (France)

Alexeïeff – Parker Award
My Bellyaching Skin, Etienne Bonnet (Girelle Production, France)

Off-Limits Award
Core Dump, Alona Rodeh (Germany)

Jean-Luc Xiberras Award for a First Film
Please, Anna Mantzaris (Apparat Filmproduktion, Passion Paris Production, Arte, Film i Väst, SVT, Mikrofilm AS, Kuli Film, YLE, and Böhle Studio/Sweden, France, Czech Republic, Norway, Finland)

Audience Award
God Is Shy

Special Prizes:

SACEM Award for Best Original Soundtrack, Short Film
God Is Shy, Jocelyn Charles (Remembers/France)

SACEM Award for Best Original Soundtrack, Feature Film
The Violinist, Ervin Han, Raúl García (Throne Inc., Robot Playground Media, TV ON Producciones, Altri Occhi/Singapore, Spain, Italy)

Annecy Presents Audience Award
Brave Cat, Gabriel Osorio (Punkrobot/Chile)

Canal+ Junior Jury Award
Piccolo Piccolo, Marta Gennari (Gebeka Films, Folimage, Reginald de Guillebon, Nadasdy Film/France, Switzerland)

Young Audience Award
Into the Forest, Antonin Niclass (Milos-Films SA/Switzerland)

André Martin Award for a French Short Film
Hold It Together, Fan Sissoko (Compass Films, Komawé, Artémis Productions – Artébis Entertainment/Iceland, France, Belgium)

ARTE Award, European Short Film 
Uka-uka, Henri Veermäe (Grafik/Estonia)

Festivals Connexion Award for an Immersive Work
Voooooo—Peeeeee—, Hyeunjoo Woo, Jiyun Park (Ubac Studio/South Korea)

Vimeo Staff Pick Award for a Short Film
Creation, Béla Klingl (Béla Klingl/Hungary)

Warner Bros. Animation Award for a Graduation Film 
The 12 Inch Pianist, Lucas Ansel (Rhode Island School of Design/U.S.)

Midnight Shorts Award
Eclosión, Luis Morillo (Luis Morillo, Edwin Gautreau Santana, Claudio Lluberes, Miguel Cabañas, Jaime Cano, Daysi Cruz/Dominican Republic, Spain)

City of Annecy Award
Because Today Is Saturday, Alice Eça Guimarães (Animais AVPL, La Clairière Ouest, Studio Kimchi, Os Filmes do Pinguim/Portugal, France, Spain)

Titmouse WTF Award 
You Are Not Part of the Cake, Ting-Jui Chen (Royal College of Art/Taiwan, U.K.)

Titmouse WTF Jury Distinction 
I Have a, Rory Waudby-Tolley (Rory Waudby-Tolley/U.K.)

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Available Now!