A poster for The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru. [Photo/tidenews.com.cn]

The highly-anticipated documentary The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, directed and produced by Fang Li, will be released across China on Sept 6.

The film, which quickly became one of the top-selling titles at the 2024 Shanghai International Film Festival, sheds light on a nearly forgotten World War II tragedy involving the Japanese ship Lisbon Maru, which sank off the coast of Zhoushan's Dongji Island 82 years ago.

On Oct 1, 1942, the Lisbon Maru, carrying 1,816 Allied prisoners of wars (POWs) from Hong Kong to Japan, was struck by a torpedo from a US submarine. Unbeknownst to the submarine crew, the ship was transporting prisoners, as the Japanese had not marked it as a POW vessel, in violation of the Geneva Conventions. After being hit, the ship began to sink, and instead of rescuing the prisoners, the Japanese crew sealed the hatches and opened fire on those trying to escape.

Fang (R) talks with descendants of a survivor. [Photo/tidenews.com.cn]

The film captures the harrowing ordeal through interviews with survivors, family members, and local fishermen from Dongji Island who bravely rescued 384 Allied POWs amid a hail of bullets. Fang's meticulous research included locating over 380 survivors and their descendants from China, Japan, the UK, and the US, and combining their accounts with historical records and animated reconstructions to vividly portray the horrific events on board.

The documentary also highlights the heroism of the 255 Chinese fishermen whose daring rescue efforts saved hundreds of lives, breaking the cycle of violence and offering a glimmer of humanity amidst the brutality of war.