Perry Chen receiving Best Animation 8-13 Award at 17th IFFF from Chris Shoemaker & Patte Dee McKee.

Perry Chen, is a name you will hear about in the years to come. Perry is an 11 year old animator and award-winning film critic.

For his work animating Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest, Perry received the award for Best Animation (age 8-13) at the 17th edition of the International Film Fest (IFFF). The 17th IFFF award ceremony was held in March of this year at the Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, California.

Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest is an animated short film showing the experiences of a young girl and Holocaust survivor. The 5 minute short animation is based on part of Pitt’s best-selling autobiography; Life’s a Scream. It depicts her struggle and ultimate survival. Pitt herself became a successful actor and starred in Where Eagles Dare with Clint Eastwood.

It goes without saying that 11 year old Perry Chen is talented. Perry was in the fifth grade when he used Toon Boom Studio to make the animation. The characters and storyboards were created and drawn by two-time Academy Award nominee Bill Plympton.  Plympton, a celebrated animator for more than 25 years, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1988 for Your Face and again in 2005 for Guard Dog.

In July 2009, Perry came face-to-face with Bill Plympton and producer/director Kevin Sean Michaels The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels. When Plympton saw a sketch which Perry made of one of Plympton’s own charaters he thought that he could be a good candidate as an artist on Beyond the Forest.  Bill Plympton had never before worked with anyone as young on a project like this. Along with Bill Pympton and Kevin Sean Michaels, Perry worked with Holocaust historian Dr. Jud Newborn and Perry’s mother Dr. Zhu Shen as co-producers.

The film was made possible by the generous support of Toon Boom Animation and Wacom.

Find out how Perry used Toon Boom Studio to create his animation.

Perrys Previews – Family Movie Reviews

AWN report – Perry Chen receives Best Animation (age 8-13) award at 17th IFFF