Cartoonist Chari Pere of Teaneck was named Artist of the Year at the 2024 Jewish Comics Experience (JewCE) Awards, which took place during the JewCE Convention on Sunday, November 10, at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan. Pere was recognized for her short film “Miscarried: An ‘Unspoken’ Cartoonmentary,” a moving exploration of pregnancy, loss and resilience through the lens of Jewish storytelling.

“Cartoonmentary,” a word Pere coined, represents an original genre in the cartooning industry. She describes her work as “a unique blend of personal narrative with universal themes of grief, healing, and identity.”

Roy Schwartz, chair of the JewCE awards committee, compared Pere’s work to “Maus,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Art Spiegelman.

“That ‘Miscarried: An Unspoken Cartoonmentary’ was selected is a testament to its exceptional merit,” Schwartz said. “Its depiction of taboo subject matter using minimal, simple lines gives it a jarring impact. It’s a testament to Ms. Pere’s talent, and her courage to use her talent to effect positive social change—perhaps the highest purpose of art.”

Pere notes that over the recent years, her “Unspoken” series has garnered widespread acclaim for addressing sensitive topics like miscarriage and reproductive health, pushing boundaries in both the comics and broader storytelling communities. This recognition at JewCE further cements her status as a leading voice in Jewish and feminist art.

Pere shared her personal story. “I experienced my miscarriage 10 years ago, and immediately realized how few resources there were for women like me, who were going through something traumatic with no clue what to expect. It took three years to create my comic, because I needed to be in a good mental place to share such a personal story. I was connected to Mayim Bialik, who was incredibly supportive and helped launch the comic ‘Miscarried’ right after Mother’s Day in 2017. I initially hoped to collaborate with a partner to turn the comic into a short documentary, but the funding fell through. At the time I didn’t have the skills to direct a video myself, so I focused on expanding the comic series.

“I began knocking out a comic a year while working full-time in an advertising agency, working on the Red Bull cartoon campaign, but had to pause the fourth comic in the series, after giving birth to my third child and battling postpartum depression,” Pere continued. “I planned to pause the project until I recovered, but a couple weeks after I felt like myself, the pandemic hit. I did finally release that comic, ‘Determination,’ last month for October Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.

“The past few years have been filled with challenges: losing two jobs I loved for reasons beyond anyone’s control, moving across the country, and enduring an overwhelming amount of personal loss. Burnt out from professional rejections and grieving so many loved ones in a short time, I almost didn’t apply for the Jewish Writers’ Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab fellowship to adapt my comics into an animated series. But my husband encouraged me, asking, ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ I hadn’t stopped to consider: What’s the best that could happen?

Pere continued: “Winning this award feels like a testament to overcoming those obstacles. I’ve leveraged my experience as a creative director to take charge of my own work, helping thousands of people feel less alone through my comics. Most importantly, I’ve shown my kids that their mom—an Orthodox Jewish woman—can use her talents to make a difference and be recognized by some of the world’s most accomplished cartoonists.”

In the afterglow of the award, Pere shared some of her plans for upcoming productions.

“I’m working on the two next videos in the ‘Unspoken’ series. The first is the animated version of “Determination” with Abbie Sophia. The second is the animated version of ‘The Diagnosis,’ the story of Dani Weiss-Bronstein and her son’s Down syndrome diagnosis, which was originally released in 2019 through Mayim Bialik’s website GrokNation.” Pere also hopes to expand the “Unspoken” series with additional topics that include reproductive health including stillbirth, infertility, postpartum depression, genetic disorders, adoption, and more. On her list of other topics are autism, ADHD, and loss and mourning to reach as many people as possible.

Also in the works, Pere said that she is currently in talks with several organizations and venues to host screenings with panel discussions and Q&As. “I do have … material for Torah discussion from my original three comics that I’ve given over the years for various speaking engagements, and plan to develop one for my latest ‘Determination’ comic as well. Of course, if anyone is interested in partnering to host a viewing or event, please do reach out!”

You can view “Miscarried’ and all the artist’s other animated videos and comics at https://www.charipere.com/unspokencartoons. You can also subscribe to the “Unspoken” Cartoons YouTube channel (@unspokencartoonmentary) for all the latest updates as well as Instagram and Facebook @charipereart.

For more information, visit UnspokenCartoons.com.