JAPANESE filmmaker Emma Kawawada, 33, has lots of sympathy for stateless people stranded in faraway lands they wish to call home.
She is the woman behind the touching yet hopeful family drama 'My Small Land', which won critical acclaim when it premiered in 2022.
At the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival that year, the film received the Amnesty International Film Award Special Mention.
REFUGEE STATUS
'My Small Land' is about a Kurdish girl in Japan and the plight she faces.
"The girl, her younger siblings and their widowed father are refugees, but still applying for refugee status," said Emma in a recent interview to promote her movie.
'My Small Land' was screened at Golden Screen Cinemas Mid Valley Megamall on July 16.
"It is hard to be given such status in Japan even though getting a tourist visa is easy," said Emma, who filmed the movie during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.
She added that there were more than 2,000 stateless people in Japan, whose status meant that they could not travel beyond the prefectures where they lived.
FIRST COLLABORATION
Emma took three weeks to film the movie, which marked her first collaboration with its main actress, Lina Arashi.
"Lina is natural. Her screen family is her real family. They are of Iranian origin, but she was born in Japan," she said.
What Emma loves most about the film is that it is an exploration of family values, something "very universal".
"In the movie, a single father does his best for his children, and his eldest daughter, played by Lina, does her best for her two younger siblings.
"All of them work hard to pursue their dreams in their new land, despite hurdles."
REAL FAMILY
Emma said the main cast, comprising Lina's real-life father, younger sister and younger brother, loved the story.
She admitted that her movie was "80 per cent based on real life".
"Many families face similar hurdles, like that of the fictitious Cholak family, played by Lina's family."
CULTURAL ELEMENTS
Emma's biggest challenge was finding a Kurdish family to play the Cholaks.
"I spoke to many Kurds in Japan, and they helped me a lot in gathering all the cultural elements for the story.
"While they have their own distinct language, they share a lot of similarities with Iranian and Iraqi families."
FOUR COUNTRIES
Emma said 'My Small Land' was a good introduction to the Kurds, the largest ethnic group without their own country.
"They are found across four countries — Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
"Originally, we thought of having Kurds who live in Japan appear as the main characters.
"However, we could not find a way to have them appear in a film without worrying about their refugee status."
STORYTELLERS
Emma is a fan of human interest stories that touch people's hearts.
Her favourite directors are Ken Loach of the United Kingdom and her mentor, Hirokazu Koreda.
"They are great storytellers and also social commentators, whose films have touched audiences."
Emma's favourite films are Spanish director Victor Erise's 'Close Your Eyes' and El Sur and Shindo Kaneto's 'The Naked Island', which has no lines spoken.
"These films are thought-provoking and out of the ordinary," she said.
FASHION MODEL
Lina, 20, was born in Saitama, Japan, and started her career as a fashion model after winning a beauty contest.
She is of mixed Iranian, Iraqi, Russian and German ancestry with Japanese citizenship.
LOOKING UP
'My Small Land' is about Sarya Cholak, 17, a Kurdish refugee in Japan.
Her life seems to be looking up, and she is surrounded by good friends, including a Japanese boy named Sota.
Sarya, however, learns that her family's refugee status has been turned down, restricting their work and movements.
Her father, Mazlum, is taken into custody for illegal employment.
Sarya is forced to support her younger siblings, Alin and Robin, and Sota and his mother do their best to help the family.