Iris Chang will be remembered as one of the most important human-rights activists and investigative journalists of her time, in the main for bringing a forgotten chapter of history to international attention with the publication in 1997 of The Rape of Nanking which documents the atrocities of December 1937 in the former Chinese capital.

Born in New Jersey, Chang worked at the Associated Press and the Chicago Tribune before devoting her efforts to examining one of the most tragic events of World War II, the Nanking (Nanjing) massacre, an event some historians have compared to the Nazi holocaust. More than just an account of the carnage, Chang’s tome exposes the Japanese Army’s utter disregard for human life, as well as later efforts by the Japanese government to suppress knowledge of what had happened.

The book became an international bestseller and at 29 Chang became a literary celebrity. More importantly, she also became a role model for thousands of Chinese students in the US. Indeed, her book, the first English-language account of the massacre, became mandatory reading in many college classrooms.

This year, the 70th anniversary of the tragedy has inspired more than a half-dozen filmmakers to commemorate its victims. Bill Guttentag’s Nanking opened in China in July, while Lu Chuan’s Nanking! Nanking! and Roger Spottiswoode’s The Children of Huang Shi are in production. In addition, Simon West, Oliver Stone and Stanley Tong all have scripts in development. That said, one project puts Chang center stage, the Sino-Canadian co-production The Woman Who Couldn’t Forget: The Iris Chang Story. This feature documentary employs archival footage, re-enactments and even CGI to allow the viewer to see the story unfold, much as Chang did during her research. The film is directed and produced by seasoned Canadian filmmaker William Spahic and his spouse, Anne Pick, Hot Docs International Documentary Festival founder and award-winning documentary producer-director-writer.

that’s: How did you come up with the idea of a docu-drama blending archival footage with interviews and re-enactments?
William Spahic (WS): We first heard about Nanking from our son Matthew, in grade 10 here in Toronto, who wanted to do a historical assignment on holocausts. We thought that meant the Jewish holocaust in Europe but he chose the Nanking holocaust instead. In helping him proofread his essay we learned about the Nanking massacre. Our research and writing of the script started in July of 2006. In December 2006, we first went to Nanking for the 69th anniversary of the holocaust, where we filmed the remembrance event at the Memorial Hall and interviewed nine survivors and other people. In March 2007, we had a script and returned to Nanjing to film the drama scenes as well as other interviews. In April, we went to Japan and filmed the Japanese perspective. We found a Japanese war veteran who had chilling stories of atrocities he had committed in China. In the same month we filmed in California, New York and Washington.

that’s: Before the release of Chang’s book, how was the Nanking massacre perceived in North America?
WS: As Iris states in her book and we confirm it in our film, the Nanking holocaust was swept under the carpet by all concerned for geo-political reasons. Very few non-Chinese people in North America knew about Nanking. Her book more than any other event changed that forever. Most of the recent spate of documentaries and feature films on the subject credit Iris Chang’s book for opening their eyes to those terrible events in 1937.

that’s: Why and how did you put Iris Chang at the center of the film?
WS: We’re the only film that has Iris as the central character, thanks to an exclusive agreement with her parents Chang Ying-Ying and Shau-Jin. We also interviewed and talked to her husband and her friends and colleagues. By getting to know Iris, the audience will, through her eyes, get to know and understand the Nanking massacre on an emotional level that goes well beyond a standard documentary primarily using archival footage. Modern day audiences have built-in emotional filters against such emotional exposure. We wanted to reach our audience on that same emotional level, i.e., personal and emotional, as the people who went through and survived the atrocity. There is no other way of looking at it.

that’s: Indeed, Chang was emotionally and personally involved.
WS: Iris had just completed but not published her first book, Thread of a Silkworm and was looking for a subject for her next book. She was aware of the Nanking massacre from her parents, whose families narrowly escaped before the Japanese took Shanghai and Nanking. She saw pictures of the atrocities and realized for the first time that she was witnessing real people’s lives at the very moment of their deaths. She did not perceive them as nameless statistics or objective historical events but as real human beings in real tragic events. She determined to do something about it. Iris was deeply influenced by what she found in China on her research trip, especially interviewing about a dozen survivors. That left a deep emotional motivation for her to write the book. After she wrote the book and later in life, she became a human rights crusader. On her grave [she committed suicide in 2004] there is an epitaph stating she was a human rights crusader.

that’s: Is the film difficult to watch?
Anne Pick (AP): We do make a conscious effort not to sensationalize the graphic archive but we choose not to shy away from it either. Some of the images are hard to watch and we are careful where and how we use them and how long they are on screen. But it was those very images that finally convinced Iris that she had to tell their stories. We hope in our film it is the emotional aspect we are underlining, not the gore.

that’s: Talk about Olivia Cheng, who portrays Iris Chang.
WS: Olivia has the same qualities that Iris had: determination, drive, intelligence and beauty. She even resembles Iris. In fact, when we filmed a scene with Olivia interviewing Professor Wang in Nanking in March 2007 [he was one of the people who helped Iris research her book in 1995], Wang completely forgot that he was talking to Olivia and kept calling her Iris and telling her that she needed to write the book. We are very happy to have found Olivia to play the part of Iris, especially since we inter-cut video interviews of the real Iris and our actress throughout our film. The cutting back and forth is seamless.

that’s: Did you encounter any difficulties when shooting in China and Japan?
WS: We had full co-operation in Nanjing and the Jiangsu Province Foreign Affairs authorities were very helpful. The hardest part was listening to the tragic stories the survivors had to tell. It had the same impact on us as on Iris when she interviewed survivors in 1995. Several times our crew would break down and weep when they heard the sad stories from our survivors. Similar to Iris’s experience, we also felt they were our motivation for making the film and they drive our narrative. But what amazed us all is that they bore no ill feelings toward the Japanese people. All they wanted was the recognition of what happened to them and above all they wanted peace in the world. Japan, on the other hand, was a mixed experience. For example, one war veteran also felt the need to tell his story because he did not want this type of tragedy to happen again. And we found people sympathetic to getting the truth told. But then we interviewed a right-wing nationalist who denied everything. That was hard to take. Emotionally, it is not an easy film to make.

AP: Japan needs to come clean, take ownership and stand accountable for its Imperial Army’s actions in the Pacific theater, China and Korea during WW II.

WS: We are not interested in making a political film. We are making a documentary about a brave young woman who dealt with bigger issues. Our motivation for making the film was the same Iris had for writing the book. And I quote her: “That beneath the thin veneer of civilized society lies a darker side of human nature.” We must always be on guard because if the darker side rises to the top as it did in Nanking many human lives are affected. All she wanted and all that the Chinese survivors we met want is recognition of what happened by way of a sincere and meaningful apology, some reparation to the victims and above all, to teach the true facts of Nanking in Japanese schools.

that’s: How will your film stand out from other films made this year about the massacre?
WS: Our film is the only film that tells Iris’s story and by doing that tells the story of Nanking. All Western films on Nanking have been influenced by Iris’s book but ours is the only one to give her the narrative she deserves. And because we are using the docu-drama format we will be able to give the audience the perspective that lets them get to know who Iris was and through her find the emotional door to a truly tragic and horrific event. We’re hoping to have a premier in Nanjing in December 2007 and with the help of the curator at the Nanjing Memorial Hall, we will have a screening and a permanent exhibit there.

For more information on Iris Chang see http://irischang.net.
2007 marks the 70th anniversary of the Nanking massacre, the 10th anniversary of the publication of The Rape of Nanking and the 3rd anniversary of the death of Iris Chang.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2007 issue