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Cellin Gluck: After Schindler's List came out, there were reports of other Schindlers around the world who had gone above and beyond to save Jewish refugees who were seeking to get out of German-occupied territories. I had heard of "the Japanese Schindler," but it wasn't until a friend of mine gave me a copy of Marvin Tokayer's The Fugu Plan, a book about the Japanese and Jews during World War II, that I really put the name Sugihara to the story.What moved you most about his story?
I was moved by the fact that Sugihara seemingly did everything out of his own volition and without any recompense, except that to his conscience. He didn't set out to become or prove himself a hero—he just did all that he could and felt was right for his fellow man.What do you imagine he would think of his life story being told on the big screen?
I believe that were he here today, he would have graciously accepted any accolades sent his way while simultaneously marginalizing any attempts to put him on a pedestal.In the film and in real life, he had a relationship with a Russian woman named Klaudia, prior to meeting his Japanese wife. Aside from being unusual at the time, how do you think the relationship helped inform his worldview?
I believe that the time that he spent in Manchuria studying at the Harbin Institute, and his time with Klaudia, helped him to at least grasp the idea that though there may be differences in culture, ultimately we are all the same.
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With the help of the Polish Ambassador in Tokyo and several Jewish relief organizations, many of the refugees were able to get visas to the United States and Canada, as well as Australia, New Zealand, and to the British Mandate of Palestine. Many Jews who were left [in Japan] were eventually deported to Shanghai, which already had a substantial Jewish population and by then was under Japanese control. There were those who also stayed in Japan.Is Sugihara's story widely known in Japan?
Most people in Japan are not aware of the name Sugihara or of his exploits. I've heard that some students in Japan read a story about him in English class, but except for the Gifu Prefecture area, where Sugihara was born, he's not really talked about that much.Prior to being sent to Lithuania, the Russian government declared Sugihara persona non grata, citing intelligence activities, making it impossible for him to assume his post at the Japanese embassy in Moscow, which was his dream. Why was this significant for the film's title?
Our producer actually came up with the title early in the process and thought it appropriate that a man who had himself been ostracized for reasons greater than himself, would, in the end, empathize with others who were trapped in a situation beyond their control.
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I am thankful that my producer, Kazutoshi Wadakura, enabled me to shoot in Poland, where I was truly able to get the best of both worlds. That is, I was able to bring some of Japan's top actors to Poland, and also choose the European country's best. Although much of the actual events took place in Lithuania, it made perfect sense to shoot with Polish actors as the majority of the refugees Sugihara gave visas to and subsequently saved were from Poland.How did your background as someone of Japanese and Jewish descent inform the telling of this story?
I felt that I could empathize with both worlds having been exposed to them while growing up. But more importantly, there was something within me compelling me to tell his story.The film is premiering in the US at a time when many people are feeling like a "persona non grata," even in their own homeland. What can Sugihara's story teach us about the past, present, and where we are headed in the future?
I believe that people should at all times do what they believe to be the right thing to do, rather than standing around hoping that someone else would step up to the plate. The prevailing feeling that it's all right to ostracize a group of people simply because of their beliefs or where they come from needs to be eradicated.Watching the film, I couldn't help but relate it to the current refugee crisis and lack of empathy by so many individuals and nations. How can films like yours help create change?
I would hope that if nothing else, films have the power to cause people to reexamine their beliefs and, thereby, even their actions. If Persona Non Grata could make people take pause and reflect on the way they feel, I would be incredibly satisfied.Persona Non Grata premieres in the US at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival on Sunday, January 31, 2016.Follow Victoria on Twitter.