The 26th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) marked its opening with the screening of the poignant documentary, The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, at the Shanghai Film Art Center on Friday.
The film delves into a harrowing World War II incident where approximately 800 British prisoners of war (POWs) lost their lives at sea after the Japanese ship they were aboard was torpedoed by the U.S. Navy.
In October 1942, the Lisbon Maru, a cargo vessel commandeered by the Japanese army to transport over 1,800 British POWs from Hong Kong to Japan, was struck by a U.S. army vessel off the Zhoushan Islands in Zhejiang Province. Remarkably, more than 300 POWs were saved by the bravery of local Chinese fishermen.
After seven years of dedicated effort, the production team interviewed over 100 family members of those affected by the tragedy, bringing personal narratives to the forefront.
Fang Li, the producer and director of the documentary, emphasized the film’s mission to highlight the war's profound impact on the POWs' families, the atrocities committed by Japanese forces, and the extraordinary heroism and humanity exhibited by the Chinese fishermen.
\"Let's all join hands to let the world know this part of history,\" Fang stated after the screening during a press meeting with the production crew.
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'The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru' documentary screened at SIFF
cgtn.com
