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Zhen Li  is an animation filmmaker originally from China, now based in Los Angeles. She often works with traditional methods of animation shaped by a strong spatial instinct. Formerly trained as an architect, she earned her BA in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and went on to practice in Shanghai, New York, Japan, and Taiwan before shifting to filmmaking. She later received her MFA in Experimental Animation from CalArts.

In 2023, her CalArts first-year short fur, a film about a crush gone moldy, screened at Sundance and Annecy, while winning the Oscar-qualifying Grand Jury Prize for Best Animated Short at Seattle IFF and the Anča Award for Best Student Animated Short. Her ongoing thesis film has received funding from Rooftop Films and supporting residencies at Yaddo and Filmværksted Viborg. She is also the 2023 recipient of the Stephen Hillenburg Animation Honor of the Princess Grace Award.

Working across hand-drawn, stop-motion, and live-action, Zhen’s films are recognized for their visceral, deeply psychological narratives, moving through uncanny, bodily environments that evoke multiple emotions at once.

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