Shanghai Ghetto
Release Date:
September 27, 2002
Limited release
If you think this is just another movie about the Holocaust, you'd be wrong. This documentary is co-directed by Amir Mann and Dana Janklowicz-Mann, both making their feature-film debuts. They decided to take on a very powerful topic for their first go-round.
Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau retells part of the Holocaust from a different point of view as he narrates the film. The movie follows the filmmakers as they travel with two Holocaust survivors back to Shanghai, China, where thousands of German Jews found refuge and created the Shanghai Ghetto.
Back in the 1930s, Shanghai was an internationally-open city. It was one of the few places where you could travel and not need any kind of official paperwork like a passport or visa. It was occupied at that time by the Japanese because of the Sino-Japanese War, but that really doesn't matter when you're trying to escape from certain death. What the refugees found was a miserable life, but life nonetheless. The filmmakers were shocked to find that portion of the city hadn't changed in over 60 years.
This film has made the rounds at film festivals worldwide and has picked up several awards. Among the awards are the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary and the Human Rights Award at the 2002 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. (Marty Doskins/BOP)
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