Company was founded 1996 by playwright Tim Toyama , actor/director Chris Tashima , producer Chris Donahue and actor/director Tom Donaldson , to bring the story of Holocaust rescuer Chiune “ Sempo ” Sugihara to the screen by adapting Toyama ’s original one-act , '' Visas and Virtue '' , as a narrative short film . '' Visas and Virtue '' ( 1997 ) film won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film at the 70th Academy Awards . In tribute to that film 's subject , the company takes its name from the literal translation of " Sugihara " : '' sugi '' ( ) meaning cedar , and '' hara '' ( ) meaning field or grove . Company describes itself as , " ... dedicated to developing and producing projects which boldly defy mainstream Hollywood by giving Asian Americans the close-up on screen , or the spotlight on stage . " Cedar Grove Productions produced '' Day of Independence '' , a narrative short film broadcast as a half-hour PBS television special on KHET/PBS Hawai'i in 2005 . Produced by Lisa Onodera , the program received an Emmy nomination from the NATAS San Francisco/Northern California Chapter , in the category of Historical/Cultural – Program/Special . The fact-based story followed a young '' Nisei '' ( second-generation Japanese American ) baseball player during the Japanese American internment in World War II
70th Academy Awards
70th Academy Awards
Cedar Grove Productions