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Beijing News (Reporter Zhou Huixiaowan) On August 13, the documentary film "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru", produced and directed by Fang Li, released a fixed poster and trailer, and officially announced that it will be released on September 6. By then, a piece of history that sank at home for 82 years will be discovered by the Chinese and presented to the world, and Fang Li has devoted 8 years and all his wealth to this. "Since I learned about this matter, I led a team to explore out of curiosity, wanting to find this sunken ship. After finding the ship, I wanted to find people related to this ship, want to know their stories, and what they experienced 82 years ago. In this way, this story was excavated. Now, it's time to tell them to more people." Fang Li said.

The release poster has been released and the movie will be released on September 6th.

The trailer starts with a series of questions: Why did the Japanese cargo ship "Lisbon Maru" sink in the waters of China's Dongji Island? Why has no one found the sunken ship for more than 70 years? More than 800 young Allied soldiers on board were buried forever on the seabed. Who are they? What happened back then? Why does the public know so little about this history that happened on China's doorstep? These are the truths that the documentary "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru" will reveal.

The documentary film "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru" released a release date trailer.

In December 1941, 1,816 Allied prisoners of war were put into the hold of the Japanese armed transport ship "Lisbon Maru" and traveled from Hong Kong, China to Japan. Because the Japanese army violated the Geneva Convention and did not hang any flags or signs for transporting prisoners of war on the ship, the "Lisbon Maru" was hit by a torpedo fired by a US submarine in the waters of Dongji Island, Zhoushan, China after sailing smoothly for three days.

From the trailer, we can see that Fang Li interviewed survivors who escaped from the "Lisbon Maru", families of the victims, fishermen on Dongji Island, and even relevant Japanese personnel. The content of the interviews is rich in angles and detailed in views, and what everyone said is also shocking: "The Japanese often carried prisoners of war on cargo ships without any markings." "What I saw through the periscope was a fully armed ship." "We are locked in (the cabin) and can't go anywhere." "These bastards want to drown us." "This has become a deliberate mass murder." "All the civilians on the island who have boats have rowed out." Through the words of these people, it is not difficult to piece together the historical truth that has been buried for 82 years, and the movie more completely reproduces the entire process of what happened on the "Lisbon Maru" that year, which will be presented to the audience in full when the movie is released.

After being hit by a torpedo, the Lisbon Maru gradually sank, and the Allied prisoners of war on board were in danger. At this time, the Japanese army chose to nail the cabin shut and shoot the Allied prisoners of war who tried to escape from the cabin or jump into the sea, attempting to bury all the prisoners of war in this sea area. At this critical moment, 255 Zhoushan fishermen on a nearby island braved the hail of bullets and rowed into the sea again and again to rescue the prisoners who fell into the sea. The heroic act of the Chinese fishermen interrupted the Japanese army's massacre, and 384 Allied prisoners of war were rescued.

More than 80 years have passed, and most of the Chinese fishermen who participated in the rescue have passed away. The Chinese old man who appeared in the trailer and narrated the history of that year was named Lin Agen. He was also the last fisherman who witnessed the sinking of the "Lisbon Maru" at that time. The film records his last memory of that period of history, and also records the scenes of the descendants of Allied prisoners of war coming to China's Dongji Island to visit him and express their gratitude to him. On August 6, 2020, Mr. Lin Agen passed away. Many descendants of Allied prisoners of war sent condolences, expressing their condolences and thanking him again for his righteous act of the year: "The legacy he left to the world includes courage, heroism, and the kindness that a person can bestow when faced with the worst atrocities of mankind."

Editor Wu Longzhen

Proofread by Li Lijun