Charlotte Mikkelborg – Escape To Shanghai

Escape to Shanghai is part of The Journey Back VR trilogy of films (incorporating live action and games engine generated CG) telling the stories of three female survivors of the Holocaust. The trilogy was selected for SXSW 2024 where hundreds queued daily to experience the films.  They are also on permanent exhibition at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and won the XR Award for Social Impact 2024 and the Museum and Heritage Award 2025.

Given my track record in VR storytelling and the fact that I was the BBC Shanghai Correspondent until 2009 and speak Mandarin Chinese, I was asked to direct this particular film telling the story of Doris Fogel, who was one of 18,000 who escaped Nazi Germany for Shanghai after the rest of the world had closed its doors. The film was shot in Berlin, Shanghai, Chicago and London (for mocap).  However, due to prolonged Covid quarantine in China, I had to direct the Shanghai leg of the shoot remotely.  

As the number of holocaust survivors diminishes, the importance of remembering and learning from their stories becomes more urgent.  This project successfully showcased how technology and storytelling can come together to enable audiences to feel like they can bear their own witness to a first hand account of the survivor experience.