SINGAPORE – Film-maker Ervin Han would like to set the record straight: He was not crying at the 2026 National Day Rally (NDR).

Television cameras on Aug 23 caught the Singaporean director, seated in the audience, looking distinctly teary-eyed as Prime Minister Lawrence Wong singled him out during his speech and congratulated him on the success of The Violinist, Singapore’s first feature-length animation.

In June, it won the Cristal for a Feature Film, the top feature prize at France’s prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

The NDR moment quickly took on a life of its own online, turning Han into a “crying guy” meme.

But the 51-year-old insists he was not crying at all.

He tells The Straits Times on Sept 2 at the Victoria Concert Hall after The Violinist press event that he has photophobia, or sensitivity to light, and says his eyes had been watering after almost 2½ hours facing a large, glaring LED screen at the NDR.

Then came the close-up.

“They just put this big camera directly on my face,” Han recalls. “Of course, there was emotion. How can one not have emotions? But it probably looked more dramatic than it actually was.”

Still, he is hardly rushing to brush off his newfound reputation.

With The Violinist opening in Singapore cinemas on Sept 17 after nearly a decade in the making, Han figures every bit of publicity helps.

“If the meme goes around and helps to bring exposure, then fine,” he says. “Can call me the crying guy. No problem.”

Towards the end of his NDR English speech, PM Wong singled Han out as an example of the courage and grit Singaporeans would need to navigate an uncertain future. He recalled meeting Han in 2015, when Han’s SG50 animated short The Violin first planted the seed for a feature.