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Michel Adam describes Shanghai 1939 as a romantic drama and that Vilnius is the perfect place to film it, the press service of the Vilnius Municipality said.

The story takes place during World War II and commences in Vienna, but its main protagonists eventually end up in Shanghai. It begins on the night of March 12, 1938 in Vienna when the Nazis annexed Austria.

The main hero of the film is Dr. Ho, the Chinese Consul in Vienna during World War II who issued visas to more than 10,000 Jews to escape to Shanghai. He is widely hailed as the Chinese Oskar Schindler. The love story features a young Jewish violinist and a Chinese martial arts expert who join creative forces and work together towards an escape. A twist in the story is that the escaping group takes a portrait of Hitler's dog that had been painted by Hitler himself along with them.

During his meeting with Vilnius Mayor Arturas Zuokas, Michel Adam told him that "the film is dedicated to the memory of my mother, who died last year. She was a musician who fell in love with my father in Vienna during the war and they eventually ended up in China after having crossed all of Siberia. I had heard many stories of their dramatic lives and escape to safety and knew it was meant for the big screen".

Adam stated that Fashion TV chose Vilnius not only because of its similarity to Vienna, but also because of the quality of the Lithuanian crews and film professionals. "The prices are reasonable here, everyone speaks excellent English and there is a large local talent pool. Fashion TV has featured a number of very talented and beautiful Lithuanian models. We will be looking for roles for them in Shanghai 1939 as well," said Adam.