Director, Creator, Story Artist
Chenglin Xie is an award-winning director and filmmaker working across the U.S. and China.
His debut short, LIFE SMARTPHONE, became a global viral hit, winning Gold Medal at the 44th Student Academy Awards®, a shortlist at the 90th Academy Awards®, and a nomination at the 43rd Annie Awards. His latest film, MEAL ON THE PLATE, premiered at 38th Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for the Short Film Jury Award again. His works have screened at 200+ festivals, earning over 30+ awards.
Chenglin's industry experience includes working as a story artist for Netflix Animation and Amazon Prime, contributing to both animated features and series. Now represented by The Gotham Group, he is developing original animated feature and series projects in LA.
Born in China, Chenglin Xie began drawing at age 6 and later attended the
Central Academy of Fine Arts (China's top1 arts school). There, he created his
first animated short, LIFE SMARTPHONE, which won First Prize for Outstanding Student Work (awarded to the top 1%) and went viral hit globally, surpassing
300 million views within months.
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The film earned prestigious awards, including the Student Academy Award Gold Medal, an Academy Award shortlist, and Gold Prize of Cyber Sousa Award (with 30 awards sharing $406,000). LIFE SMARTPHONE was also featured in major international exhibits, including “FROM INK,” representing China’s best animation during official national visits to Japan and Greece.
While at CAFA, Chenglin created FATHER AND DAUGHTER, which won a second Gold Prize of Cyber Sousa Award and premiered at the 60th San Francisco International Film Festival. He also received China’s National Scholarship (awarded to the top 1% of students).
In 2016, Chenglin moved to the U.S. to study at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. He created OVERNIGHT and MEAL ON THE PLATE, selected for major festivals like Sundance and Rhode Island International Film Festival, and earned him further recognition, including another Golden Dragon Award, Best Animated Short at the FIRST Film Festival, and a Special Jury Prize at the Los Angeles Animation Festival. Since 2018, Chenglin Xie’s films have been acquired by SND Films, exclusive agent for Bill Plympton’s shorts outside the USA.
Chenglin joined Netflix Animation in 2021 as a story artist, contributing to animated features and series, and also worked Amazon Prime Video project. In 2022, he signed with Hollywood's The Gotham Group and began developing his own original animated projects.
Chenglin and his works have been reported and featured globally across major media outlets, including multiple channels on China Central Television (CCTV2, CCTV4, CCTV6, with a daily audience of 186 million), People's Daily Online, The Hollywood Reporter, Cartoon Brew, and The Los Angeles Post. He was also named one of China’s "Top 30 Short Film Directors of the Year" (2015) and one of the “Top 10 Outstanding Chinese Americans.”
(selected reports)