Congratulations to young filmmaker and Nikkei Australia member Gabriel Murphy who received the Australian Directors’ Guild Award 2023 for Best Direction in a Student Film for Enemy Alien, a short film based on the story of Joe Murakami.

Joseph Clement Kisaburo Murakami was interned as an ‘enemy alien’ during WWII, and chose to live in Japan after the war. He died in 2022 in Tokyo.

‘A poetic retelling of the experiences of Joseph Murakami, a fourteen-year-old boy from Darwin, who is summarily rounded up and interned by his government on the basis of his ethnicity, leaving wounds unhealed to this day.

‘Built from Joseph’s words, Enemy Alien envelopes you in the emotional journey of this overlooked historical event, from a unique perspective, to ask pertinent questions about Australia’s history and future.

‘Enemy Alien premiered as part of the Antenna Documentary Film Festival in October 2022, alongside screenings at the Brisbane International Film Festival and Revelation Perth Film Festival.  

‘Enemy Alien premiered internationally at DOC NYC in 2023, as part of the Shorts: Collateral Damage program.

From Gabriel Murphy’s website