A Japanese man travels to Soviet Armenia in the 1980s to uncover the story of Diana Apcar, the world’s first appointed female Honorary Consul, and falls in love with a local museum guide.
Hiro Nakajima and Maro Tumanyan spend only two days together in Armenia, but their subsequent year-long correspondence eventually leads to marriage. In Japan, the couple encounters numerous cultural differences and struggles against prejudice and discrimination as they strive to find a place between two worlds. Despite obstacles, they persistently work together to research the forgotten story of Diana Apcar, an Armenian woman who lived in Japan a century earlier. At the time, Diana functioned as the de facto Armenian ambassador, gaining temporary asylum in Japan for thousands of refugees fleeing genocide and starvation 10,000 kilometers away.
Hiro’s growing obsession with this historical woman is personal; his father ferried Jewish refugees holding visas issued by Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese acting consul in Lithuania, across the Japan Sea during the Holocaust. Inspired by his late father’s contribution to Jewish refugees, Hiro feels compelled to uncover a similar story 25 years earlier, using his art — manga-Esque animated scrolls — to communicate the tale of Diana and the migration of Armenian genocide survivors.
Simultaneously, Maro finds work on Japanese TV translating Russian and German news reports where she hears terrible news that her home, Artsakh, an independent enclave within Azerbaijan, is under siege as the Azeri regime attempts to reclaim the territory. Living in Japan, far from her ancestral land, Maro follows Diana’s lead and becomes an activist for her homeland, drawing attention to the cause of self-determination and self-rule.
History repeats.
Learn more about the project here: Film’s Pitch Deck
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