The director of a Chinese-made documentary about a sunken ship during World War II said that the documentary reminds people to appreciate peace and family.
"The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru", a documentary about a little-known WWII tragedy involving Japanese imperial forces and British prisoners of war (POWs), highlighted the impact of war on British families and brought into light the courage and humanity of Chinese fishermen.
In October 1942, the "Lisbon Maru," a cargo vessel requisitioned by the Japanese army to carry more than 1,800 British POWs from Hong Kong to Japan, was mistakenly struck by a U.S. submarine off the Zhoushan Islands in east China's Zhejiang Province.
Local Chinese fishermen rescued 384 prisoners, who would otherwise have been drowned or shot by the Japanese army, from the sea.
The film production came about only by chance, after director Fang Li, who is also an expert in geophysical exploration and marine technology, became fascinated with the tale of the Lisbon Maru after hearing it from some fishermen in the Zhoushan archipelago in Zhejiang back in 2014, and then started to search for the location of the sunken ship.
"I love history. I know a lot about World War II, and what happened in the Far East in the Pacific War, also even for Europe. I know a lot about history. But when a young captain told me about this story, I was so shocked. How could I have never heard about this?" said Fang.
Using seabed imaging devices, Fang's company later found a large sunken ship near the Dongji Islands in 2016. In September the next year, Fang's team proved, through ultra-low altitude magnetic detection, that the wreckage was a steel ship weighing thousands of tons and then obtained a three-dimensional image of the sunken vessel with sonars, which perfectly matched with the blueprint of the Lisbon Maru.
Curiosity drove Fang to find the wreck, but as he learned more about the Lisbon Maru, the filmmaker wanted to do more to document this nearly forgotten history.
"I also heard that there was only one fisherman still alive, Mr. Lin. He was 94 years old. We also heard that there was only one POW still alive. Dennis Morley in the UK, 90 or 80 years old. I told the local official 'Why don't you invest half, and I invest half? Let's rescue the history.' That is the first time we talked about shooting a documentary, but mainly it's to rescue history," said Fang.
To find as many people as possible connected to the event that took place over 80 years ago during the war, Fang heavily advertised in British media including the Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, and The Guardian. After the adverts, the BBC also invited Fang to share the story on live broadcasts. Eventually, the director found 380 POW families and also discovered another survivor, veteran William Beningfield, who lived in the Midlands of Canada.
"I told everyone how I interviewed them and then I said 'I'm not an interviewer. I'm a visitor.' I'm knocking the door, listening to them. You know what I tell them? 'Whatever you want to tell the world, I'm just recording. I don't have a purpose, I just want to listen to your story and share it with the world because I'm a filmmaker'," said Fang.
"One soldier related with multiple relatives and family members. So that's why I really want people to remember: Don't easily talk about war. There are so many families going to get hurt. I want everybody to remember to appreciate the peace, to appreciate the family," said Fang.
The historical documentary made its highly-anticipated UK premiere in London on March 17.
The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru reminds people to appreciate peace, family: director
