Forgiveness

Mitsue Sakamoto and Ralph MacLean both suffered tremendous loss during WWII: Mitsue as a survivor of a Japanese Canadian internment camp, and Ralph as a prisoner in a Japanese POW camp. In order to rebuild their lives and their families after the war, Ralph and Mitsue must find the grace and generosity necessary to forgive those who have wronged them. Their paths eventually cross in 1968 when Mitsue's son and Ralph's daughter begin dating, and Ralph is invited to Mitsue's home for dinner.

This soaring adaptation of Mark Sakamoto's award-winning memoir affirms the power of forgiveness and shows us that in our challenging times characterized by political divisiveness, xenophobia, and race hatred, the story of Mitsue and Ralph's personal triumphs over hatred, injustice, violence, and bigotry remains vitally relevant and urgently necessary.

Hiro Kanagawa is a Vancouver-based writer and actor. His play Indian Arm received the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama. His other plays include The Tiger of Malaya and The Patron Saint of Stanley Park, both of which have been performed across Canada. Also a sought-after script doctor and consultant, Hiro was story editor on the critically acclaimed Canadian series Da Vinci's Inquest, Da Vinci's City Hall, Intelligence, and Blackstone. As an actor he is perhaps best-known for his numerous recurring and guest-starring roles on popular television and streaming series such as Star Trek: Discovery, Altered Carbon, The X-Files, and many more.

A lawyer by training, Mark Sakamoto has enjoyed a rich and varied career, having worked at a national law firm, a national broadcaster, and served as a senior political advisor to a national party leader. He is Executive Vice President of Think Research, a leading global digital health company with over five hundred employees operating on four continents. In 2014, Mark authored his first book, Forgiveness: A Gift from My Grandparents, which went on to be a #1 national bestseller, winning CBC Canada Reads in 2018, and hitting #1 again for a second time. In 2020, Mark hosted and was an executive producer on Good People, a five-part documentary series that explores humanity's biggest problems, co-produced by Vice Media and CBC. He lives in Toronto and Prince Edward County with his wife and their two daughters.