Where But Into the Sea

US Premiere

In September 1939, Maria Kamm and Marcel Weyland fled their hometown of Łódź during the Nazi invasion of Poland and began a journey into the unknown. After staying in Lithuania, they got on the Trans-Siberian Railway to Vladivostok, and then onboard a Japanese steamboat which took them to Tsuruga Bay, Japan. They were forced to live in Kobe, Japan and in Shanghai, China before finding, at last, peaceful places to live in Sydney and Melbourne. An accidental encounter between a Japanese historical investigator (Kenji Kanno) and Maria sets in motion the creation of this film, which traces the siblings’ journey of escape from persecution and internment during WWII. The documentary gives life to stories that remain in places left behind, but not forgotten. Pondering the Jewish diaspora, Where But Into the Sea also illuminates the serendipitous fortune created by shared hands: Jewish, Japanese, Chinese, and Australian peoples brought together in a miracle of survival. It ultimately shares the power that the gift of humanitarian aid has on the helpless, which is as true for refugees today as it was during the Second World War.