Europe, 1940. For thousands of Jews, a Japanese diplomat and his wife defy Tokyo and the Nazis, and offer visas, for life.
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Chris Tashima is an award-winning American actor and director. He has starred in numerous independent feature films, most notably as the romantic lead opposite Joan Chen, Allison Sie, Kelly Hu and Autumn Reeser, in Eric Byler's Americanese which won a Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Ensemble Cast at SXSW. He was awarded Best Actor in a Supporting Role, at the inaugural Love International Film Festival, for his portrayal of Papa Nakaji in Tim Savage's World War II family drama Under the Blood Red Sun produced by Dana Satler Hankins. He portrayed real-life educator/activist Shigeo Yoshida in the 442nd RCT origin story Go For Broke from producer/screenwriter Stacey Hayashi. Most recently, he played the hard-nosed Uncle Bob in the generational family comedy No No Girl from writer/director Paul Daisuke Goodman--for which he received two nominations at the Austin Revolution Film Festival, and he plays Hiro in Brian M. Tang's action/fantasy short Kodama, receiving its world premiere at SXSW 2023. Tashima received an Academy Award® for directing the dramatic short film Visas and Virtue, a re-telling of the heroic actions of Holocaust rescuer Chiune Sugihara. In addition he co-wrote the screenplay adapting a one-act play by Tim Toyama, and starred as the Humanitarian diplomat Sugihara. He also directed, co-wrote and starred in the WWII Japanese American internment short film Day of Independence which was nominated for a NATAS Northern California Area Emmy®. These two directorial works came from Tashima's own Cedar Grove Productions, an indie entertainment house aiming to "Boldly defy mainstream Hollywood by giving Asian Americans the close-up onscreen."
Diana was born in Rochester, New York and went to Cardinal Mooney High school. She graduated from Ithaca College with a BFA in Theatre with an emphasis in vocal performance and dance. She studied abroad in London. She has a brother David, 2 years younger, who is an attorney in New York City. She lives in Los Angeles with her two boys, and husband Paul Jackson, a production designer. The film Visas and Virtue (1997) won the 1997 Academy Award for Live-Action short film. Diana was involved in the project from the very first reading of Tim Toyama's staged reading at East West Players in Los Angeles. She continues to perform regularly on stage and is an associate member of the exceptional Buffalo Nights Theatre Company in Los Angeles.
