Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (right) and producer Mark Joseph spoke at an advance screening of “Little Boy” at the Japanese American National Museum on March 26. Directed by Alejandro Monteverde, the film is set in a small American town during World War II. Seven-year-old Pepper Busbee, played by Jakob Salvati, will do anything to ensure the safe return of his father (Michael Rapaport) from the war. As part of a list of good deeds, a priest, Fr. Oliver (Tom Wilkinson), tells the boy to befriend Hashimoto (Tagawa), a Japanese American just released from an internment camp, who is subjected to slurs, vandalism and worse by local residents, including Pepper’s older brother London (David Henrie). Although reluctant to associate with each other at first, Pepper and Hashimoto form a bond. Tagawa, who may be best known for playing bad guys in such films as “Mortal Kombat” and “Showdown in Little Tokyo,” said that he had a lot of input into the development of his character. The movie opens on April 24. (J.K. YAMAMOTO/Rafu Shimpo)

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