10-year-old Artist and Film Critic Perry Chen Won 2010 “Vic Kops Children’s Challenge Awards”

May 21, 2010 - PRLog -- Perry Chen, a 10-year-old award-winning artist and film critic, has won an award at the 28th annual “Vic Kops Children’s Challenge Awards” in the “Arts” category.  Perry Chen is a fourth-grade student at Torrey Hills School in the Del Mar Union School District.  He loves to create art in various media and reviews family films with his signature and kid-friendly 1-5 starfish on a multi-media platform.  

http://www.perryspreviews.com    

The Awards Breakfast was held at the Lomas Santa Fe Country Club on May 12, 2010.  Susan Paul, Torrey Hills School Principal, introduced Perry on stage and presented the award to Perry.  Perry’s parents Drs. Zhu Shen and Changyou Chen, Jeannette Prince, Perry’s art teacher from preschool, and Perry’s other friends attended the awards ceremony.

The awards won by twelve children in 2010 in six categories include community service, art, science, fellowship, humanities and courage.  They are given out annually by The Optimist Club of Del Mar- Solana Beach.  The awards were founded by late Optimist Victor "Vic" Kops, a Del Mar clinical psychologist. He started the award as a way to recognize children who are in "a league all their own," according to Susan Pfleeger, co-chair of The Optimist Club.  

“I have watched Perry grow from a little first grade child who on the first day of art class created a catapult out of pencils and erasers, one in which Da Vinci would be proud of, to a 4th grade child who has learned how to positively channel his creativity in so many amazing avenues,” said Jennifer Baker, Torrey Hills School art teacher who nominated Perry.  “It is wonderful to see Perry develop into a child who has taken the arts and uses it as a vehicle in which he encompasses the world.  Perry is always looking for ways in which he can create, and it is such a joy to see his mind working as he comes to an idea of how to express himself through the visual arts. Perry creates art out of anything.  He is a very gifted boy who not only embodies raw talent but has an imagination that only grows more creative as he gets older. As Perry’s art teacher, I could not be more proud of his involvements and accomplishments in the arts!”

“I am so honored to receive this wonderful award from The Optimist Club of Del Mar-Solana Beach,” said Perry, “I am especially grateful to Mrs. Baker, my Torrey Hills School art teacher who always nurtured and encouraged my artistic endeavors, and Ms. Joli Harris, my third grade teacher at Torrey Hills, who wrote comments on every movie and book review that I wrote during third grade.  I started drawing when I was three years old when I attended the Del Mar Hills Nursery School.  I was lucky to have Mrs. Jeannette Prince there, my first art teacher, who always enjoyed working with me and raved about my paintings and drawings to my parents.  I am also thankful of my afterschool art teacher Ms. Helen Yuan who taught me Chinese painting, calligraphy, water color, and more.  My gratitude also goes to my parents whose love and encouragement made everything I do possible.”

Perry is looking forward to taking on more challenges, now as a young filmmaker and animator to create an animated film with twice-Oscar-nominated animator Bill Plympton, director & producer Kevin Sean Michaels, Dr. Jud Newborn, co-producer and Founding Historian of New York’s Holocaust museum, and Dr. Zhu Shen, Executive Producer and Perry’s mother.  The animation short, “Beyond the Forest” which will premiere in 2011 at film festivals, is about Ingrid Pitt, a child survivor of the Holocaust. Perry chose this project because the Holocaust is a horrible crime against humanity, and he feels that he can do his part to educate today's children about history lessons from the Holocaust.  He is honored to be working with such a world-class animation master as Bill Plympton on this project, and is excited about creating this film that tells another child's story.

Perry became a national sensation after appearing on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric in May 2009, and was a major hit on National Public Radio (NPR) with host Liane Hansen on March 28, 2010 to share his experience at the press junket for Dreamwork’s blockbuster animation “How to Train Your Dragon.”  Perry has been extensively featured on regional, national, and international media, including Fox, KUSI, CBS 8, CW Channel 6 San Diego Living, NBC 7/39, Cox Channel 4, The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego News Network, San Diego Magazine, San Diego Family Magazine, San Diego CityBeat, SanDiego.com, World Journal, The China Press, and more.

Perry has published over 30 movie reviews and film festival news as a film critic and columnist on nine San Diego newspapers, his own website, and most recently, as the youngest blogger on Animation World Network (AWN.com), the leading animation industry publication with over 150,000 monthly readers.  Perry is the host of “Perry Previews the Movies” on wsRadio, the worldwide leader in internet talk radio.    

http://www.awn.com/blogs/perrys-previews  

Perry won an “Excellent Writer Award” given by “We Chinese in America” newspaper and magazine in January, 2010 for his movie review column from a child’s perspective.  He also won art awards for his paintings exhibited at the San Diego City Hall in October 2009 and at the 14th annual San Diego International Music & Art Festival in January 2010.  

Perry is also a young philanthropist who gives back to the community.  He performed at the Asian American Journalist Association San Diego Chapter’s fun-raiser “San Diego”s Got Talent” in March 2010, and donated all proceeds to AAJA student scholarship fund from the auctioned dragon sculpture he made on stage.  Perry also gave away free press screening passes to under-privileged children in foster care through the Walden Family Services.  In 2008, Perry together with his parents, donated to the China 2008 earthquake relief fund through ACCEF (American Chinese Culture & Education Foundation) to rebuild schools destroyed by the massive quake.

Perry Chen’s new Webseries “Perry’s Previews” is slated to be launched in June 2010, in collaboration with Mental Eclectic, a San Diego-based film production company. The Webseries shows an intimate, behind-the-scenes look into Perry’s experience and life as a renowned child film critic, budding filmmaker, and a 4th-grader in elementary school.  Mental Electic’s CEO Craig Wilson attended the awards ceremony with other producers and cameramen.  

Perry Chen has been invited to attend the red carpet and world premiere of the new 20th Century Fox family film MARMADUKE on Saturday, May 22, 2010 at Imperial Beach, San Diego, where Perry will interview director Tom Dey, producer John Davis, voice talents Owen Wilson (Marmaduke) and George Lopez (Carlos); party and enjoy the premiere on the sandy beach with his mom and the Mental Eclectic crew.

Perry invites visitors to sign up on his website for special offers, newsletter, and more on:

http://www.perryspreviews.com    

For Perry’s radio talk show, and special events video, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/perryspreviews    
http://www.wsRadio.com/perry    


Perry Chen has close to 1,200 followers on Twitter (on 23 lists), over 5.6 million connections on Linkedin network.  Connect with Perry on his social media sites:

http://twitter.com/perryspreviews  
http://www.facebook.com/perryspreviews  
http://www.linkedin.com/in/perryspreviews  

For questions about Perry Chen, please contact Zhu Shen, wsRadio executive producer, email: bioforesight@gmail.com

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Perry's Previews features reviews by Perry Chen, an award-winning 10-year-old critic of G/PG-rated family movies and the youngest radio talk show host, budding filmmaker/animator. Details: www.perryspreviews.com
www.wsRadio.com/perry
www.youtube.com/perryspreviews