Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest
An animated short film by Perry Chen, Kevin Sean Michaels and Bill Plympton
Narrated by Ingrid Pitt
New! Now available on iTunes for download
About the short film
Memories from the Holocaust have been portrayed in almost every medium, but rarely animation -- and never before by a child animator. Animated short film "INGRID PITT: BEYOND THE FOREST" is a cross-generational collaboration between a world-class animation master, two-time Academy Award-nominated Bill Plympton, and a first-time animator, 11-year-old artist Perry Chen. It is narrated by Ingrid Pitt herself.
Starting with Ingrid Pitt's poignant narration and Bill Plympton's 23 traditional pencil sketches as storyboard, award-winning artist and film critic Perry Chen brings this moving story and its contemporary implications alive. Read more
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2011 News Archive
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November 2011
Holocaust survivor Dr. Joseph Bussel, Perry Chen and Bill Plympton speak on the red carpet at Burbank Film Fest
You may recall that Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest was an official selection of the Burbank International Film Festival which took place in September. While there, Stephanie Sullivan of Community Visual Resource interviewed animator Perry Chen (accompanied by proud mom and co-producer Zhu Shen), storyboard artist Bill Plympton, and Holocaust survivor Dr. Joseph Bussel. The interviews are now available worldwide in this informative and touching video. Enjoy!
October Festival Recap
October was an extraordinarily busy month for crewmembers of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest. There were a total of eleven events at six different film festivals, many of which were attended by director Kevin Sean Michaels, animator Perry Chen, co-producer Zhu Shen, and/or storyboard artist Bill Plympton.
Our webmaster has also been busy updating this site with excerpts and links from the resulting press coverage. At left, the cover of Cascade A&E magazine's October issue, which features images from BendFilm Festival selections.
At left, Sean Hackett, Rick Vaicius, and Kevin Sean Michaels at the Flyway Film Festival in Wisconsin. It was an unforgettable experience to enjoy the hospitality, creativity, and abundant dairy products for which the area is known.
Perry Chen and Zhu Shen attended the San Diego Asian Film Festival, and you can see many lovely photos from that event at their website PerrysPreviews.com.
Stay tuned for more event photos and reports.
October 2011
Screening and panel discussion at Bend Film Festival in Oregon
We are pleased to announce that Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest is an official selection of the 8th Annual BendFilm Festival October 6 - 9, 2011. The BendFilm festival is a celebration of independent cinema and takes place each year in Bend, Oregon (coincidentally, also the one-time home of Ted V. Mikels, the subject of Kevin Sean Michaels' documentary The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels).
Director Kevin Sean Michaels and storyboard artist/character designer Bill Plympton will also participate in the panel discussion, How to Raise Money for Your Project. This panel will enlighten the audience on the path to successful projects.
Please see the official website for all the details.
| What: | Panel discussion How to Raise Money for Your Project, featuring Kevin Sean Michaels and Bill Plympton |
| When: | October 7, 2011, 10:30 AM to noon |
| Where: | McMenamins - Old St. Francis School Father Luke's Room, 700 N.W. Bond Street, Bend, OR 97701 |
| More info. | listing on BendFilm festival website, McMenamins official website |
| What: | Screening of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest |
| When: | October 7, 2011, 12:30 PM |
| Where: | Regal Cinemas Old Mill 1, 680 SW Powerhouse Drive, Bend, OR 97702 |
| More info. | listing on BendFilm festival website, Regal Cinemas official website |
| What: | Screening of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest |
| When: | October 8, 2011, 12:30 PM |
| Where: | Sisters Movie House 1, 720 Desperado Ct, Sisters, OR 97759 |
| More info. | listing on BendFilm festival website, Sisters Movie House website |
| What: | Screening of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest |
| When: | October 8, 2011, 8:30 PM |
| Where: | Tower Theatre, 835 Northwest Wall Street, Bend, OR 97701 |
| More info. | listing on BendFilm festival website |
Screenings at San Francisco Documentary Festival
Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest will be screening three times at the San Francisco Documentary Festival, part of the SF Independent Film Festival (a/k/a SF IndieFest). Since its founding in 1998, SF IndieFest has been supporting and celebrating maverick filmmakers and their work. It currently draws crowds of over 11,000 people! Be sure to visit the official website for all the details.
| What: | Screening of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest. Director Kevin Sean Michaels will be in attendance. |
| When: | Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, 9:30 PM |
| Where: | Roxie Cinema Theater A, 3117 16th St., San Francisco, CA 94103 |
| More info. | listing on SF IndieFest website |
| What: | Screening of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest. Director Kevin Sean Michaels will be in attendance. |
| When: | Monday, Oct. 17, 2011, 5:00 PM |
| Where: | Shattuck Cinema, 2230 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704 |
| More info. | listing on SF IndieFest website |
| What: | Screening of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest. |
| When: | Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011, 7:15 PM |
| Where: | Roxie Cinema Theater A, 3117 16th St., San Francisco, CA 94103 |
| More info. | listing on SF IndieFest website |
Screening at San Diego Asian Film Festival
Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest will also be screening at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, one of the largest showcases of Pan-Asian cinema in North America. (Animator Perry Chen and his mother, co-producer Zhu Shen, are Chinese.) The festival takes place October 20 - 28, 2011 in San Diego, California. Please see the official website for updates and lots of useful information about attending the festival. They also have a contest you should enter if you are the Ultimate Asian Film Super Fan!
| What: | Screening of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest |
| When: | Oct. 20, 2011, 7:40 pm (as part of "SD Block Party" program) |
| Where: | UltraStar Mission Valley Cinemas at Hazard Center, 7510 Hazard Center Drive, San Diego, CA 92108 |
| More info. | listing on San Diego Asian Film Festival official website |
Screening at San Jose Short Film Festival in California
Just announced! Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest will be screening at the San Jose Short Film Festival in California on Saturday, October 22nd. The San Jose Short Film Festival (SJSFF) offers filmmakers from around the world an opportunity to present their films in the best possible HD clarity before exuberant audiences in the heart of Silicon Valley. Please see the official website for all the details.
| What: | Screening of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest |
| When: | Oct. 22, 2011, 2:00 PM |
| Where: | CineArts Theatre, 3088 Olsen Dr., San Jose, CA 95128 |
| More info. | San Jose Short Film Festival official website, CineArts Theatre website |
Screening at Flyway Film Festival in Wisconsin
We're pleased to announce that Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest will be screening at the Fourth Annual Flyway Film Festival, which takes place October 20 - 23 in the towns of Pepin and Stockholm, Wisconsin. The Festival will feature over 50 films, over 30 visiting filmmakers, panel discussions, the Jon Reiss Think Outside The Box Office workshop, and a Thursday night Kickoff Gala with food, filmmakers and live music. All this in an intimate and interactive environment along the banks of the Mississippi River.
| What: | Screening of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest. Director Kevin Sean Michaels will be in attendance. |
| When: | Oct. 22, 2011, 4:00 PM |
| Where: | Widespot Performing Arts Center -- Historic Stockholm Opera Hall, N2030 Spring Street, Stockholm, Wisconsin (Corner of The Great River Road (Hwy 35) and Spring Street) |
| More info. | listing on Flyway Film Festival official website |
Screening at Flip International Animation Festival in England
Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest will have its UK premiere at the Flip International Animation Festival. Established in 2004, Flip is an eclectic mix of all things animation. Based in the heart of the Midlands, the festival provides a wide range of experiences from educational workshops for young people to experimental animation for grown ups; from industry-led panels to feature film screenings and from international showcases and retrospectives of short films to spotlights on animation studios.
| What: | Screening of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest |
| When: | Exact date and time to be announced. Festival takes place Oct. 27 - 29, 2011. |
| Where: | Light House, The Chubb Buildings, Fryer Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1HT England UK |
| More info. | Flip Festival official website |
September 2011
Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest Acquired by Shorts International for Worldwide Distribution
Theatrical Debut at "ShortsHD at the Movies" in Los Angeles on September 20, 2011
Los Angeles, CA and Long Island, NY, Sept 20, 2011 — The Holocaust has been treated by almost every medium, but rarely animation — and never by a child animator — until now. VAMP Productions' film Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest, animated by 10-year-old filmmaker and award-winning critic Perry Chen, has been acquired for worldwide distribution by Shorts International, the distributor of Academy Award-nominated shorts tours for the last six years in theaters, inDemand!, and on iTunes and ShortsHD TV in over 100 markets. Perry finished the animation as a 5th grader and is now 11. Oscar-nominee Bill Plympton provided the storyboard, with Kevin Sean Michaels as director, and Holocaust historian Dr. Jud Newborn and Perry's mother Dr. Zhu Shen as co-producers.
Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest is included as the only animated film in "ShortsHD at the Movies," a night of short films that will not be short on star power, presented by Shorts International at the CGV Cinema in Los Angeles, California on September 20 - 22, 2011, along with 11 other short films. Perry Chen and his parents will attend an invitation-only Premiere Reception with Press and Filmmakers on Tuesday, September 20 at CGV Cinema in Los Angeles, an event to spotlight some of the year's best short filmmakers and actors, immediately followed by the public screening of the 12 shorts in two showcases. Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest is in "Showcase 2" of the program.
Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest to screen at Burbank International Film Festival
We are pleased to announce that Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest is an official selection of the Burbank International Film Festival, and will screen on September 17th. Our storyboard artist Bill Plympton is an honoree and will also be the presenter for this year's inaugural "Plympton Award for Indie Animation" which will go to an entrant of the Burbank International Film Festival, annually. Congratulations, Bill!
| What: | Screening of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest. Animator Perry Chen and co-producer Zhu Shen will be in attendance. |
| When: | Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011, 3:00 PM |
| Where: | AMC Independent 6, 770 North 1st Street, Burbank, CA 91502 |
| More info. | Burbank International Film Festival official website. Bill Plympton official website. |
Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest to screen at DOCartoon festival in September
September will also bring the first European showing of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest, when it screens at the DOCartoon festival in Italy. DOCartoon is the first festival in the world primarily dedicated to animated documentaries and non-fiction comics. The festival is held the last week of September and will present a varied program of screenings "attentive to reality told in reconstructed images." Details are not yet announced, but please check the official website for updates.
| What: | First European screening of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest. |
| When: | Festival takes place September 24 - 30, 2011. Screening schedule TBA. |
| Where: | Cinema Comunale Pietrasanta in Pietrasanta, Italy |
| More info. | DOCartoon official website. Cinema official website. Pietrasanta on Wikipedia. |
August 2011
Press coverage
We are flattered by the attention Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest is receiving on the internet and elsewhere, including featured stories on the homepages of Animation World Network, North County Times, and sponsor Toon Boom. Please see our press page for links to all the articles.
And as always, you can follow Perry's activities (what a busy kid!) at his official website, Perry's Previews.
Perry Chen (holding microphone) being interviewed at San Diego Comic-Con, July 2011.
With him are his mother Zhu Shen and director Kevin Sean Michaels.
Photo courtesy of Liz H. Kelly of Sunrise Road Media
Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest to screen at Maeya Chinese Family Films festival in San Diego
We are pleased to announce that Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest is an official selection of the 7th Maeya Chinese Family Films festival, part of the San Diego International Children's Film Festival. Animator Perry Chen and his mother, co-producer Zhu Shen, are Chinese, and the film will be showing with other family films from China, with English subtitles. Perry Chen and Zhu Shen will also be in attendance for questions. The event is free.
| What: | Screening with Q & A by animator Perry Chen and co-producer Zhu Shen |
| When: | Saturday, August 6, 2011, 11:50 AM |
| Where: | AMN Healthcare Theatre, Del Mar Heights. Address: 12400 High Bluff Drive; San Diego, CA 92130 |
| More info. | Official website for the The 7th Maeya Chinese Family Films festival. |
July 2011
We're back from Comic-Con, all events having been a great success! It was very gratifying to see so much interest in Beyond The Forest. Thank you to everyone who came out in support at all four screenings. There were many excellent questions raised at the panel and a lot of interest. Attendees expressed their confidence that this short film will further Holocaust education.
Perry Chen was his usual charming self, and Bill Plympton, Karina Bessoudo from Toon Boom and Perry's mom Zhu Shen all chimed in. We'd also like to express our thanks to Pat Swinney Kaufman of the New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture & Television Development and Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Entertainment for their words of encouragement.
At right, Gremlins director Joe Dante supports Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest. Shown here with Kevin Sean Michaels holding Dante's DVD Trailers From Hell while Dante holds a screener copy of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest. (Photo by Tom Chen of Shout! Factory.)
Perry Chen is seen here wearing Troma buttons given to him by Lloyd Kaufman.
We're already looking forward to Comic-Con 2012 -- see you then!
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