SHADOWS IN THE SUN visits with Japanese who fought or whose fathers died fighting Australians and Americans in Papua New Guinea's jungles, as they struggle with their personal losses and with Japan's legacy in World War II.

The film follows a group of pilgrims to the sites of their fathers' and comrades' deaths in New Guinea. They perform religious observances meant to lay the wandering spirits of loved ones at rest, as veterans describe the horrors of the jungle campaigns where disease and starvation decimated thousands of men abandoned by the crumbling Japanese high command. Those who were children during wartime share their enormous regret and anger over Japan's political course through the 1930s and 40s. Together, the stories of the veterans and the "fatherless generation" provide a rare critical perspective of Japan's wartime aggression and its consequences on the war's victims - including its own people.

While the Japanese government continues to leave issues lingering from the Pacific War largely unaddressed, SHADOWS IN THE SUN takes an important step to better understanding Japan, its history and its people today.

"As an educational tool, this video clearly shows us what many contemporary Japanese think of the war. The film does an excellent job by drawing a line between emotion and rationality. This film is a powerful and clear message that the Pacific War was a Japanese mistake. The reviewer recommends this video for Japanese Studies classes."—Kan Liang, Education About Asia

"[SHADOWS IN THE SUN] directly yet movingly addresses the question: How do Japanese people remember?... Powerful, a milestone."—The Bulletin (Australia)

"Pick of the Week!... Many have found it difficult to forgive the Japanese for what they did during World War II. Many may still be unwilling to after watching this quietly powerful documentary. At the very least, however, the film should help broaden the understanding of what happened on the other side in even the hardest of hearts... The question the film raises is what place hatred has in the future, especially now that there is a whole generation of Japanese people who regard the conduct of their country during WWII with the same disdain as those who were victims of it."—Melbourne Age