In a partnership with the Oregon Media Production Association (OMPA), McMenamins presents The Great Northwest Film Tour, giving new films a place to be shown, gather momentum and burst out onto the scene. At regular intervals, The Great Northwest Film Tour will host directors, actors and/or producers at our McMenamins hotels and theater-pubs with their latest work — could be a documentary, an action film, animation or beyond. . . .

First up is a film entitled Adventures in Plymptoons!, celebrating the life and work of legendary Portland animator Bill Plympton with a week-long series of screenings throughout McMenamins theater-pubs from May 19 through May 27, 2012. All screenings include a Q&A with . . . producers Steve Tenhonen and Kevin Sean Michaels with special guests and activities to celebrate "Keeping it Weird" in Oregon.

We caught up with animator Perry Chen at the 2012 Newport Beach Film Festival to talk about his film Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest and his new animated project in the works.

Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest will screen at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival Sunday, May 6th @ 3pm. For more information and to purchase tickets visit their website: LAJFF

Pint-sized movie reviewer Perry Chen, 11, can add "Special Jury Award, WorldFest Houston" to his résumé. The local boy illustrated, and his mother Zhu Shen produced, a short story by a World War II concentration camp survivor. Festival organizers say "Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest" was a top contender for its "short subject" grand prize Remi Award...

. . . About nine months later, Plympton and Michaels got back in touch to invite Perry to animate their six-minute short film, "Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest."

The film, narrated by Pitt, who died at 73 in 2010, depicts the horror-film star's escape from the concentration camp Stutthof as an 8-year-old. It will be shown Sunday at WorldFest Houston.

Jud Newborn, a former historian at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York and a consultant for the film, admits he was initially skeptical that a child could appreciate the enormity of the Holocaust. "It took me a little bit of time to see the light, and then I saw it very clearly," he says.

In the end, it makes sense to have a 10-year-old tell a story about an 8-year-old, Newborn says. "The film is the Holocaust told through the eyes of children younger than Anne Frank was," he says. "Perry could give a voice to all those children who suffered in a manner that is ultimately uplifting." . . .

"Animation ... is particularly entertaining. It's beguiling. But it can often be complex and convey almost any kind of message, both in an insidious way as well as a wonderfully poignant and human way because it's somewhat disarming," he says.

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, animated by 11-year-old filmmaker and award-winning critic Perry Chen, received the award for Best Animation (age 8-13) at the 17th edition of the International Family Film Fest (IFFF).

Perry, now 11, finished the animation as a fifth grader. Oscar-nominee Bill Plympton provided the storyboard, with Kevin Sean Michaels as director, 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.

Perry Chen's list of accomplishments would make even a super overachiever like Lisa Simpson look like a slacker. The talented 11-year-old began writing film reviews when he was in third grade, and now has a regular feature in the San Diego Union-Tribune and covers red carpet events on his blog. Last year, he explored another creative outlet by collaborating with indie animation legend Bill Plympton on the well-received animation short Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest.

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Chen, who began reviewing books and films at the encouragement of his third grade teacher and his supportive Chinese-born parents Zhu Zhen and Changyou Chen, also believes the project was a very valuable learning experience for him. "A lot of adults told me that it was a very serious topic," he says. "I hope the film educates people about the Holocaust, so that something like that never happens again. . . ."

What's most impressive about Chen is his passion and respect for both the written word and the art of animation. "When I grow up, I want to be a film director and an author. I love E.B. White and Jeff Smith, the artist who did the comic book series Bones. . . .

As [Kevin] Michaels, his collaborator on the Ingrid Pitt project points out, "What's unique about Perry is that he entered the career path of animation at such a young age, that he has about a million miles to go. There's no telling what can happen from here." One thing's for certain: It will be interesting to watch Perry's progress as the years go by.

SAN DIEGO — Speaking about this year's Joyce Forum in a recent phone interview, its founder, Joyce Axelrod, proudly pointed out that this year's shorts program (Shorts in Winter) received a record number of submissions, 100, that almost overwhelmed the all-volunteer curating committee consisting of herself, Claudia and Mark Title and Don and Marcia Wolochow. . . .

Of all this year's shorts, she was most impressed with Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest, by the 11 year-old precocious local filmmaker, Perry Chen. "I got in touch with Perry and his mom, who led me to his website, and I thought it was charming the way he was discovered and how the two veteran filmmakers (animator Bill Plympton and film director, producer, and visual artist Kevin Sean Michaels) embraced this little guy. They saw such potential in him. Then I read about Ingrid Pitt, who was a heroine in her own right. She was a movie star and starred in horror films in England. I think Perry is a typical 11 year-old who has talent. He talks and looks like a typical kid. He has a mother who is very excited about having a son with so many talents. He is also a film critic. He will be interviewed by out artist-in-residence, who is an animator who we are bringing in from New York, Hanan Harchol."

The 22nd Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival kicks off Thursday and runs through February 19 with more than 40 of the best contemporary Jewish themed films from around the world.

The festival's mission statement is to offer outstanding world cinema that promotes awareness, appreciation and pride in the diversity of the Jewish people to attendees of the community at large. For more than 2 decades SDJFF has distinguished itself as a festival that truly encourages discussion of its films and the issues, ideas, and themes they raise.

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This year's Joyce Forum takes place on February 13 at the Clairemont Reading 14. Films include: "Flawed," "Don't Tell Santa You're Jewish!," "Ladies and Gentlemen: Biddie Schitzerman," "Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest," "David and Goliath," "Miracle Lady," "I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors," "Shira," and "A Reuben By Any Other Name."

The 22nd annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival returns with an impressive slate of films showcasing many different cultures, topics and genres. After last year's successful turnout, festival organizers have doubled the number of screenings and expanded their North County offerings.

Festival highlights (screening dates are for the first showing; additional dates and locations are listed on the festival website):

The Joyce Forum - A Celebration of Rising Stars and Seasoned Filmmakers, Feb. 13 at Clairemont Reading Cinema Town Square

• 2:30 p.m., "Shorts in Winter." The 10th annual event named in honor of the festival's founder, Joyce Axelrod, starts with a collection of short films by up-and-coming filmmakers, including San Diego's 11-year-old wunderkind (and former U-T San Diego citizen critic) Perry Chen, with his animated film "Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest."

The San Diego Jewish Film Festival rolled out its 2012 lineup and it includes an event to end all events: a Jews in Toons seminar! No, not Jews in Tune (who can afford Streisand?), but an evening dedicated to celebrating many of your favorite circumcised cartoon characters.

This year's fest, which runs February 9-19, will be held at an unprecedented 5 locations across San Diego County: Reading Cinemas Town Square 14 in Clairemont Mesa, UltraStar Mission Valley Cinemas at Hazard Center, Edwards San Marcos Stadium 18, the Carlsbad Village Theatre in Carlsbad, and at the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center.

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As always, we have an appearance by Joyce Axelrod, SDJFF's resident Yiddishe Momma, and a walking mamaloshen if ever there was one. The 10th Annual Joyce Forum, named in honor of the festival founder, is a yearly celebration of "rising stars and seasoned filmmakers." This year, Joyce curates Shorts in Winter, a gathering of short films to screen free of charge at 2:30 p.m. on Mon., Feb. 13, at the Clairemont Reading 14. Included in the package will be Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest, a short animated by my friend, colleague, and favorite Asian landsman, Perry Chen.