Sam Chou - Biography
Sam Chou is an award-winning animation director and showrunner whose films and series have premiered at major festivals including Sundance, TIFF, Annecy, and the Ottawa International Animation Festival. Known for blending cinematic ambition with emotional depth, Chou’s work spans genres—from dark comedy and thriller to documentary and genre animation.
His most recent short film, The Death of James, won the Audience Award at the 2024 Austin Film Festival, Best Canadian Short at TAAFI, and received an Honourable Mention at the Fargo Film Festival. His holiday thriller In The Heat premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, screened at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, and won Best Short Film at the Vancouver Short Film Festival, Best Animated Short at Midwest WeirdFest, and Gold at the Collision Awards.
In 2023, Chou wrote and directed VRDLK: Family of Vurdulak, a gothic horror short that won Best Animated Short at FilmQuest and Lusca Fantastic Film Fest, and was selected for the Fantasia International Film Festival, North America’s leading genre film showcase.
Chou’s breakout project, Crime: The Animated Series, premiered at Sundance and the Toronto International Film Festival, and received the Best Animation Series for Adults award from the Ottawa International Animation Festival. In recognition of his contributions to the art form, he was awarded the Kaj Pindal Award in 2023 for outstanding impact on Canadian animation.
He began his career as a character animator on feature films such as Osmosis Jones (Warner Bros.), Eight Crazy Nights (Sony), and 101 Dalmatians II (Disney), building a strong foundation in traditional animation before evolving into a director known for bold, emotionally driven storytelling.
