"It's something people haven't heard before," Aussie fimmaker made a film of a Japanese immigrant family

The film, Enemy Alien, will be screened at the Antenna Documentary Film Festival in Sydney and the Brisbane International Film Festival this month.

(From back left) Takumi Kasuga, Hiroshi Kasuga, film director Gabriel Murphy, and Akane Kasuga. The Kasugas played the role of the Murakami family who immgrated to Ausralia before WWII. Credit: Antenna Documentary Film Festival

Enemy Alien is a short documentary film written and directed by an Australian filmmaker Gabriel Murphy.

The film is telling a story of Joseph Clement Kisaburō Murakami (Jo Murakami), a Broome-born Japanese Australian who was sent to an internment camp as 'enemy alien' during WWII with his family, when he was a teenager.

Jo Murakami's father, Yasukichi Murakami, came to Australia in 1897 and he was a well-known pioneer of Japanese immigrants and ran his businesses in Broome and Darwin. Yasukichi Murakami had passed away at the internment camp in Victoria.

Jo Murakami was treated as an 'enemy alien' by the country where he was born and bred. He moved to Japan when he was in 30s, but he never was able to acquire Japanese citizenship even though he tried many times.

Credit: Antenna Documentary Film Festival

Jo Murakami passed away in April this year at the age of 94.

In the audio, the director of the short film Gabriel Murphy explains why he decided to make a film about Jo Murakami and his family.

Also, the Kasugas, a Sydney-based Japanese family who played the Murakamis in the film, share their thoughts on the story of Jo Murakami and their experience on set.

Enemy Alien will be screened at Antenna Documentary Film Festival in Sydney on the 15th and at Brisbane International Film Festival on the 30th of this month.

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