Visas and Virtue (1997)

Directed by

Chris Tashima

Genre

documentary film, drama film, biographical film

Country

United States

Runtime

26 min

Rating

6.6 of 10 from 7 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A Japanese diplomat in Lithuania in 1940 decides to defy his government's orders by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. The film focuses on his personal struggle and the risks he takes to save thousands of lives.

poignantrestrainedtenseunderstatedquietly heroicemotionalgroundedintimate

What happens

Visas and Virtue is a 1997 narrative short film directed by Chris Tashima and starring Chris Tashima, Susan Fukuda, Diana Georger and Lawrence Craig. It was inspired by the true story of Holocaust rescuer Chiune "Sempo" Sugihara, who is known as "The Japanese Schindler". Sugihara issued over 2,000 transit visas to Polish and Lithuanian Jews from his consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania, in August 1940, in defiance of his own government (Japan), thereby allowing an estimated 6,000 individuals to escape the impending Holocaust. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• Persona Non Grata (2015)
• Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness (2000)
• Sugihara Survivors: Jewish and Japanese, Past and Future (2017)
• Life Is Beautiful (1997)
• The Long Way Home (1997)
• 六千人の命のビザ (2005)
• Grüningers Fall (1997)
• Daavid - tarinoita kunniasta ja häpeästä (1997) (1997)