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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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Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oscar-Nominated Animator Bill Plympton and 11-Year-Old Artist Prodigy Perry Chen To Create Animated Film about The Holocaust

May 2, 2011 -- Holocaust Remembrance Day -- SAN DIEGO, CA -- Eleven-year-old award-winning artist prodigy and young film critic Perry Chen has a very unique task. He will be using his talents to help other children of many cultures learn the importance of the Holocaust.

"Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest" is an animated short film based on the experience of Holocaust survivor, Ingrid Pitt, who later became a major film and television star. Pitt and her family were imprisoned by the Nazis in the Stutthof concentration camp in Poland in 1942. She spent ages five through eight in the camp, and miraculously escaped with her mother in 1945.

The short film depicts Pitt's struggle and ultimate survival, which is based on part of her best-selling autobiography, "Life's a Scream."

The characters and storyboards for the animated film "Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest" were created and drawn by two-time Academy Award nominee Bill Plympton.

A celebrated animator for more than 25 years, Plympton was nominated for an Academy Award in 1988 for "Your Face" and again in 2005 for "Guard Dog."

Ten-year-old artist prodigy Perry Chen saw Plympton’s animated short "The Fan and The Flower" as a film critic at the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival in July, 2009 and became an instant admirer of Plympton's work. Later that month at Comic-Con International in San Diego, Chen came face-to-face with Bill Plympton and producer / director Kevin Sean Michaels ("Vampira: The Movie"). Flawlessly, Chen sketched Bill's "Guard Hot Dog" character right along side Plympton's original drawing. Impressed, Plympton and Michaels thought Chen would be a good candidate as an artist for "Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest."

This is the very first time that animator Bill Plympton partners with a young child artist for an animated film. Chen will be creating the 1,200 pencil drawings that will make up the total of 5-minutes of animation for "Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest." Chen has been extensively featured on regional, national, and international media, including Fox, NBC, ABC, and CBS, and NPR. "Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest" is slated to premiere at film festivals and special events in 2011.

Dr. Jud Newborn, Founding Historian of New York's Museum of Heritage, and Special Projects Curator for the Cinema Arts Centre, is creative consultant, historical advisor and co-producer.

Media contact: Zhu Shen, Executive Producer, wsRadio,
bioforesight [at] gmail.com, Ph: 858-761-7955