Arnaud Toulon César Award Nomination: ARCO Original Music 2026

Arnaud Toulon received the César Award for Best Original Score on February 26, 2026, for his work on the animated film Arco, as announced by the Académie des César in Paris.

This marks Toulon’s first César Award and his first major film composition, following a career in sound design and composing for shorter-form projects including short films, television series, documentaries, and dance performances. He previously earned the Prix SACEM for original music at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival for Arco, where the film similarly won the Cristal for best feature film.

Arco, directed by Ugo Bienvenu, tells the story of a ten-year-old boy who travels through time using a rainbow-colored cape, journeying between the years 2932 and 2075 where he encounters a girl named Iris. The film’s visual style and Toulon’s musical score were specifically highlighted as standout elements in a competitive year for animated features, according to Frenchly.

Toulon collaborated with the studio Remembers on the project. Raphaël Hamburger, son of Michel Berger and France Gall, served as the film’s musical supervisor and co-produced the soundtrack album with his label, Hamburger Records. The 26-track soundtrack was released in late October 2025.

During a discussion at the Annecy festival, Bienvenu described Toulon’s role as being responsible for the “metaphysics” of the film through his score, according to reporting in Actu. The composition was described as a subtle blend of minimalism and melody.

Arco also claimed the award for Best Animated Film at the César Awards. Each film nominated for the music award receives a statuette, as noted by Cinezik.