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Junichi Kajioka, an actor turned producer, turned director sheds light on a rather unknown aspect of Japanese and Jewish history, during WW2, concerning Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese acting consul in the then Lithuanian capital Kaunas and Tatsuo Osako, an official of Japan Tourist Bureau. Sugihara issued visas in defiance of the Japanese government to allow thousands of Jewish refugees to travel to Japan via the former Soviet Union, so they could escape from the Holocaust, and Osako repeatedly traveled across the Sea of Japan to help transfer these refugees to Japan. Furthermore, the documentary focuses on Akira Kitade, a man who has published a research named “Visas of Life and the Epic Journey — How the Sugihara Survivors Reached Japan,” has traced Osako’s trips, and is currently searching for the people the two Japanese saved, and their descendants.

Kajioka presents this story through Kitade’s travels and a number of...

Junichi Kajioka is a Japanese actor – trained in China – and also a writer-director based in London. He acted in “Spectre”, “47 Ronin” and “Johnny English Strikes Again” in the UK and works also in China and India. He has established his own production company Culture Bridge Productions in the UK and has already produced “Imphal 1944” and “Sugihara Survivors: Jewish and Japanese, Past and Future”. He has been actively involved in film festivals around the world and has been on juries at film festivals in India and Turkey.

On the occasion of his screenings at the Japan Film Fest in Hamburg and New York, we speak with him about his films, acting work, his future projects, and other topics.

2017 has been quite a successful year for your films. Tell us a bit about the progress of Imphal 1944 and Sugihara Survivors.

Imphal 1944 was nominated at film festivals in Japan, London and Nice this year.

Read More: Watch: Bonnie and Clyde Meet Martin Scorsese in Gangster-Fueled 'The Wannabe' Trailer UK distributor Swipe Films has acquired the UK rights to Belfast-born director Maeve Murphy's latest feature, "Taking Stock," and has announced that it will release the indie feature on February 12, 2016.  Featuring Kelly Brook in a starring role, Murphy's newest film won four Angel Film Awards at its international premiere at the 13th Annual Monaco International Film Festival, held in in Monte Carlo last weekend. The decision was made thanks to an all-female jury, which included the executive producer of "Beasts of No Nation," Elika Portnoy. In total, "Taking Stock" won the Independent Spirit Award, co-star Junichi Kajioka won the Best Supporting Actor Award, Gerry Vasbenter won Best Cinematographer and Maeve Murphy, Frank Mannion and Richard Yetzes won for Best Producer. Murphy is an award-winning writer/director...

After the World Ended Trailer. Tony Sebastian Ukpo‘s After the World Ended (2013) teaser trailer stars Haruka Abe, Junichi Kajioka, You-Ri Yamanaka, Anthony Ofoegbu, and Maria Hodson. After the World Ended‘s plot synopsis: “A multi-faceted story that takes place on an alternate future time line of Earth. A mysterious astronaut crash lands in the middle of an [...]

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