Chris Tashima

In 1998, Chris Tashima received an Academy Award® for Live Action Short Film, for Visas and Virtue (1997) -- a 26-minute historical drama inspired by Holocaust rescuer Chiune 'Sempo' Sugihara -- which he directed, co-wrote (adapting an original one-act play by Tim Toyama), and starred as the Humanitarian diplomat. To produce the film, he co-founded Cedar Grove Productions -- with playwright and executive producer Toyama and producer Chris Donahue -- which remains active developing and producing projects which "boldly defy mainstream Hollywood by giving Asian Americans the spotlight on stage, or the close-up on screen." Following that success, Tashima directed, co-wrote and acted in Day of Independence (2003), Cedar Grove Productions' tribute to the 120,000 Japanese Americans who endured America's World War II concentration camps. The half-hour drama received an Emmy® Nomination from the NATAS Northern California Chapter, in the category of Historical/Cultural - Program/Special, in addition to being officially selected to over sixty international film festivals, garnering twenty-five awards.