Singapore animation has reached a major milestone — with a local film selected for the main competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the first time in the festival’s 65-year history.

Behind that recognition lies a more complicated reality. It took close to a decade, cross-border partnerships, and significant public funding to bring a single project to life — and even then, it may not have been possible on purely commercial terms.

On Industry Insight, Lynlee Foo speaks with Justin Deimen, Executive Producer of The Violinist and Executive Director at Singapore’s Intercultural Theatre Institute, to examine what it really takes to build animation at scale — from financing structures and talent constraints to the role of international co-productions and distribution.