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SUMMARY:Film Festival Special Preview Event & Screening of Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness
DESCRIPTION:Preview the 2026 Season Experience with a Film Screening\, Filmmaker Q&A\, & Guest Performance\nExperience an evening of powerful storytelling\, community\, and Jewish and Japanese culture during this year’s St. Louis Jewish Film Festival Preview Event. \nTake in an energetic pre-film performance by St. Louis Osuwa Taiko\, be moved by the heroic acts of a Japanese diplomat during the Holocaust in a screening of the documentary film Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness\, and engage with diane estelle Vicari\, award‑winning filmmaker of Sugihara\, during a live Q&A. \n\nFilm: Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness\n2000\, NR\nUSA\, English\nRobert Kirk\, diane estelle Vicari\nDocumentary: 90 minutes  \na powerful documentary that reminds us how one person’s courage can change the course of history \nIn the dark early days of World War II\, Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara made a choice that defied his government — and changed the course of thousands of lives.\n\nIn the fall of 1939\, as Hitler’s murderous wave swept across Eastern Europe\, Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara faced an impossible choice. Stationed in Lithuania as Japan’s Consul\, Sugihara was surrounded by desperate Jewish refugees whose only hope of escape lay in a transit visa he was expressly forbidden to issue. Acting against direct orders from Tokyo—and at enormous risk to his career and his family—Sugihara followed his conscience\, handwriting thousands of visas that enabled Jews to flee through Russia to Japan and onward to safety. Today\, it is estimated that more than 40\,000 people owe their lives to Sugihara’s extraordinary moral courage.\n\n\n\nTrailer\nhttps://jccstl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SUGIHARA-Conspiracy-of-Kindness-Trailer-SD1.mp4\n\n\n\nSpecial Pre-Show Performance by St. Louis Osuwa Taiko\nSt. Louis Osuwa Taiko delivers the traditional art of Japanese taiko—along with powerful modern pieces—through electrifying\, high‑energy performances that captivate audiences with rhythm\, movement\, and cultural artistry. Performing throughout the Midwest\, they bring a thunderous\, heart‑pounding experience you can feel in your chest\, making them a must‑see for anyone who loves immersive live art or Japanese culture. \n \n\nPost-Screening Q&A with Filmmaker diane estelle Vicari\n\n \nThe screening will be followed by a live Q&A with award-winning filmmaker diane estelle Vicari\, whose documentary brings Sugihara’s story vividly to life. A graduate of UCLA’s Program in Film and Television\, Vicari has built a distinguished career producing films that explore our shared humanity and global interconnectedness. Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness earned the prestigious Pare Lorentz/IDA Award\, and in 2021\, the California State Legislature officially designated Sugihara Visas Day\, honoring the diplomat’s legacy of compassion and rescue.\n\n\nVicari’s appearance is generously sponsored by Nancy and Ken Kranzberg and Shelly and Rick Mayhew. We invite you to join us for this meaningful evening of film\, conversation\, and reflection — a fitting prelude to a festival devoted to bearing witness\, choosing courage\, and celebrating the power of human kindness. \n\n\n\nTickets\nTickets for this special preview event are only $5/person!\n\nRESERVE TICKETS \n\n\nPartner Event\n \nJoin us January 17–April 4 at the Holocaust Museum for Special Exhibition “Resilience – A Sansei Sense of Legacy”\nThe Film Festival Special Preview Event: Sugihara coincides with the Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum’s new exhibition\, RESILIENCE: A Sansei Sense of Legacy\, on view January 17 – April 4\, 2026.\n\nIn 1942\, Executive Order 9066 forced the incarceration of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. Told from the perspective of Sansei – third-generation Japanese Americans – Resilience features the work of eight artists whose families experienced this injustice and whose art reflects on its impact across generations. That impact was also felt here in St. Louis\, where many Japanese American families settled post incarceration.\n\nThis free exhibition is made possible through the Museum’s Partnership with the Japanese American Citizen’s League. \n\n\n31st ANNUAL ST. LOUIS JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL\nSunday\, March 15–Thursday\, March 26\, 2026\nNow in its 31st year\, the St. Louis Jewish Film Festival showcases outstanding films that illuminate Jewish life\, culture\, and identity. Screenings run Sunday\, March 15–Thursday\, March 26\, 2026\, at the B&B multiplex and at partner locations around St. Louis\, offering audiences a high-quality cinematic experience on both the Grand Screen and in smaller auditoriums. The St. Louis Jewish Film Festival is a program of the J – St. Louis.
URL:https://jccstl.com/event/sugihara-conspiracy-of-kindness-documentary-st-louis-jewish-film-festival-event-opening-event/
CATEGORIES:Cultural Arts & Ideas,Adults
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://jccstl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-JFF-Sugihara-Showpass-Banner-upd02042026.png
ORGANIZER;CN="St. Louis Jewish Film Festival":MAILTO:johnwilson@jccstl.org
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