Zuflucht in Shanghai - The Port of Last Resort

11.11.2021 18:30 - 20:30

A special u:japan lecture with Paul Rosdy

(Filmscreening and Director Talk)

| Synopsis |

THE PORT OF LAST RESORT presents the little-known story of nearly 20,000 European Jewish refugees who fled to Shanghai in the years 1938-41. Shanghai was a free port that did not require papers for entry, and became the “last resort” to find a safe haven from the Nazis. This lost world is revealed through the memories of four survivors, and through a collage of rare and remarkable film footage. Extraordinary images of refugees and uncommon views of Chinese life create a compelling vantage point for understanding and experiencing this story of survival.

... more about the film https://www.rosdyfilm.com/port and the trailer https://www.rosdyfilm.com/port/en/zuflucht-2/#trailer 

| Director’s Statement |

I made this film because I wanted to know what it was like for a person of my home country – or any other country, to be – all of a sudden – declared an enemy of the state that actually exists, among other things, for to protection of this very same citizen. What was it like for a person to be thrown out of his home country, all their belongings taken away, and finding refuge in a city like Shanghai? What happened there and how did people survive?
   For me, to understand the history of my home country it was not enough to just read about it and know the story. Making this film made me much more aware of what these people had to go through, something that today hardly anyone imagines can happen again. Though it just did happen not long ago in Bosnia & Hercegovina.
   Shanghai was for most refugees a lost time. They survived but often lost their youth, lost their chance for an education and after these 10 years they had to start all over again for the 2nd or 3rd time. But time did pass, people became older and so their chance for a happy and successful life. As Sig Simon says in the film: The bad is buried by the good.
    For me this is a positive story, a story of survival with all it’s hardship, facts and memories that usually are not mentioned in history books: human feelings about their struggle to survive. To know what this is like I made the film. I know how privileged I am in being able to make this film and I am grateful for that. I know from the response of the people who were in Shanghai, that they appreciated that their story was finally told.
Paul Rosdy, June 1999

| Bio |

Geboren und aufgewachsen in Wien, war Paul Rosdy zunächst in der Tourismusbranche tätig. In den 1980er Jahren bereiste er für American Express die Welt: Sowjetunion, China, USA. Dann hatte er genug und übersiedelte nach Vancouver (Kanada), wo er einen Filmlehrgang abschloss. Sein erster Film hieß You Don’t Look for Street Signs When You’re in a Jungle (1991), gefolgt von Release Day (1992) – beide Filme setzten sich mit dem Leben im Gefängnis auseinander. In New York gründete er mit Joan Grossman Pinball Films und kam 1998 mit The Port of Last Resort – Zuflucht in Shanghai heraus, einem Film über die rund 20.000 Juden, die vor den Nazis nach Shanghai geflüchtete waren. Anschließend richtete er seinen Blick auf Mittel- und Südosteuropa und es entstand Neue Welt (2005), eine Fahrt durch die Mitte Europas, von der alten Welt in eine neue. 2009 machte er Çernobílá Barevná (Schwarzweiss Farbe), eine tschechische Auftragsproduktion über die Veränderungen in Zeit und Raum in den nordböhmischen Braunkohlegebieten. 2011 Der letzte Jude von Drohobytsch: ein Portrait über Alfred Schreyer, der eine Geschichte zu erzählen hat, so unglaublich, dass ein Leben nicht ausreicht, sie zu fassen. 2012 begann eine lange Reise durch die Kinolandschaft und -geschichte Wiens von 1896 bis heute. 2018 feiert Kino Wien Film beim Viennale Film Festival Premiere.

| Date & Time |

u:japan lecture | #5
Thursday 2021-11-11, 18:30~20:30
max. 300 participants (online) max. 25 participants (live)

18:30 ~ 19:45 Filmscreeing on site only*

19:45 ~ 20:30 Director Talk (hybrid = on site with live stream via zoom)

* If you can't attend the screening on site, you might be interested in watching the film by using one of the many online possibilities here https://www.rosdyfilm.com/port/en/buy/  (e.g. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/theportoflastresort)

| Place & Registration | 

Filmscreeing LIVE @ Campus of the University of Vienna (registration required!)
Department of East Asian Studies, Japanese Studies
Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2.4 (Campus), 1090 Vienna, Austria

Please bear in mind, that strict CoVid-precautions are enforced, therefore
- bring and wear a FFP2-mask,
- provide a proof that you are tested, recovered or vaccinated (2,5-G rule) and
- register beforehand:
To register for the live event, please send an email to ujapanlectures.ostasien@univie.ac.at with your full name and telephone number.

Please visit these links for university's special and general information regarding the current restrictions.

| Plattform & Link |

... only the Director Talk is STREAMED online (no registration required)
https://univienna.zoom.us/j/99418614604?pwd=aU83QUtqRUlsdnFqVVo4SnBnK1hwQT09 
Meeting-ID: 994 1861 4604 | PW: 145573

Instructions and Netiquette (in English and German)
How to join a lecture via Zoom Meeting (in English)
Frequently Asked Questions (in English)

| Further Questions? |

Please contact ujapanlectures.ostasien@univie.ac.at our visit https://japanologie.univie.ac.at/ujapanlectures/s03/#e05.