Sophie And The Rising Sun

A sweeping tale of forbidden romance and drama, set in the autumn of 1941 as World War II rages across Europe.

Sophie and the Rising Sun is a tender and moving story of two lovers in the small township of Salty Creek, South Carolina. Sophie Willis (Julianne Nicholson, Boardwalk Empire, Masters of Sex) is a humble artist who also sells seafood to the close-knit townsfolk. Her life is simple, but in her heart she yearns for more. When injured Japanese gentleman Grover Ohta (Takashi Yamaguchi, Letters from Iwo Jima) appears under mysterious circumstances, Sophie attends to him developing the foundations for an innocent friendship, born of their mutual love of art. But as their budding romance transforms into a forbidden courtship, society soon closes in on them both, as the war develops into a full blown attack on Pearl Harbor.

With American soil under threat and anti-Asian suspicions on the rise, a surge of misguided patriotism, bigotry and violence sweeps through the town, casting their lives into sudden turmoil. Also featuring Dianne Ladd (Chinatown), Margo Martindale (Justified) and directed by award winning filmmaker Maggie Greenwald (Songcatcher, The Ballad of Little Jo), Sophie and the Rising Sun is a touching exploration of love, art and the crippling cruelty of war-time persecution. 

Critic Reviews:

• " A wonderfully intersectional film, featuring love and friendship against the backdrop of WWII and the languid air of the South. " – Li Lai

• " An eloquent, and both captivating and terrifying story playing out on the eve of the US entry into WW II, the film connects the Jim Crow South, and racism against Japanese Americans. And women bonding together in crisis for better – and often much worse. " – Prairie Miller

• " The actors are so good that it doesn't even seem awkward when the film gives us a romantic angle between Nicholson's Sophie and the Japanese visitor. " – Edward Douglas