Hanni Vogelweid (Sondheimer), who makes a "Special Appearance" as Elderly Woman at Interview, received a life-saving visa from Sugihara when she was 17 years old, which allowed her to escape Lithuania with her family in 1940. She helped with research for the film by sharing family photos and talking about her experience. She passed away in 2006.
All four main cast members, Chris Tashima, Susan Fukuda, Diana Georger and Lawrence Craig, originated their roles onstage in the world premiere of the play at the Road Theatre Company, in North Hollywood in 1995. Executive producer and playwright, Tim Toyama, served as the stage manager.
Production designer Yuki Nakamura served as hand double for actor Chris Tashima for the close-up shot of Sugihara's hand, writing visas in Japanese. Nakamura was born and educated in Japan, and was able to write the kanji characters much more quickly (and efficiently), creating the proper urgency for the scene in the montage.
The company, Cedar Grove Productions, was founded in 1996 to produce the film, and takes its name from the literal translation of the name of the film's hero character, Sugihara. In Japanese, 'sugi' means cedar [tree], and 'hara' means field or grove.
Chris Tashima approached Lisa Onodera in 1996 about producing the film, but she was busy developing her own projects for the then newly formed Celestial Pictures, including Il Debutto (2000), which she would go on to produce shortly after.