" The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru " vividly recalls the touching story of Zhoushan fishermen's heroic rescue of British prisoners of war on the "Lisbon Maru" ship in 1942.
30°13′44.42″n, 122°45′31.14″e, in the waters of Zhoushan Islands, Zhejiang.
Yesterday at 10 o'clock, "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru" premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival. Before entering the venue, many viewers' understanding of the film remained as "it shows the brilliance, courage and cross-border love of humanity" or "it is one of the fastest sold-out films at this year's Shanghai Film Festival." After 123 minutes, many people agreed with what director Fang Li said - a coordinate was clearly seen.
Salvage History
Time goes back to 2013. While filming the movie "" on Dongji Island, Fang Li first heard about the "Lisbon Maru" shipwreck from Zhoushan fishermen. "I was greatly shocked and moved by the feats of the Chinese fishermen, and I couldn't let go of those British prisoners of war." Three years later, Fang Li was determined to shoot a documentary for a global audience to salvage this period of history, and also salvaged more than 1,800 people who had been killed. Forgotten POW stories.
Since 2016, Fang Li has resumed his “first career”. To today's movie audiences, Fang Li is better known as the producer of films such as "Riding the Wind and Waves" and "Hundred Birds of the Phoenix". In fact, he is also a marine technology expert and geophysicist with more than 30 years of experience. Out of curiosity, he began to investigate history. "Investigating history and clarifying history requires physical evidence. According to the recorded coordinates of the sunken ship, we searched for the 'Lisbon Maru', but found nothing in the first 10 days." In October 2016, he led an industrial team to locate the location of the sunken ship for the first time and obtained the underwater 3D underwater view of the sunken ship. form, and drew a sonar map, "That location is 36 kilometers away from the relevant positioning we found from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
The film recorded a large number of oral historical materials from the descendants of the parties involved. The picture shows Fang Li (right) interviewing the descendants of British prisoners of war on the "Lisbon Maru" ship.
determined the coordinates, and Fang Li felt a sense of mission. "More than 800 young people were buried on the seabed in a foreign country. Who were they and what happened?" In 2018, he went to the UK for the first time and reached a cooperation agreement with relevant parties. , went to Zhoushan for the first time to conduct research in March, interviewing 94-year-old Lin Agen, the only surviving fisherman at the time; in April, the film crew traveled to more than 20 towns in the UK and interviewed 18 descendants of British prisoners of war, leaving traces of They are located in major museums, historical museums, and memorial halls; in July, Fang Li accepted an interview with the British media and published a full-page missing persons advertisement in a local newspaper; in August, the second film crew went to the United Kingdom and contacted the descendants of 28 prisoners of war. ; In October, a full-page advertisement in the newspaper helped them find another survivor, and the team immediately rushed to Canada to talk to the 98-year-old William Benefield; in November, Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo, and Yokohama, Japan , Fang Li's team visited museums, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the old prisoner of war camp sites, reviewed a large number of confidential documents, and even found the children of "Lisbon Maru" captain Shigeru Tsuda through a local detective agency...
During an intensive period of time, Fang Li and his The team contacted nearly 380 family members of prisoners of war, collected tens of thousands of historical photos, and interviewed nearly 120 descendants of prisoners of war face-to-face. The final 123 minutes of the film that met the audience were made by Fang Li through the "war between heaven and man" during later editing. "I hope it includes all aspects of the core parties and descendants narrated. Only in this way can the fragments be pieced together into a relatively complete and true history."
"Return to the scene"
In fact, with the media's influence in recent years With in-depth reporting and related research, public awareness of the "Lisbon Maru" shipwreck is gradually increasing. Previously, the TV movie "Eastern Rescue" was broadcast on CCTV-6; the TV documentary "Asia-Pacific War Trial" produced in Shanghai also included interviews with witnesses of this incident. However, this is the first time that it has been expressed in the form of a film documentary.
Why go to all the trouble to bring documentary stories to the big screen? Fang Li's reason is "an inner commitment", and the movie entrusts the hopes and expectations of more than 2,000 families."More than 1,800 prisoner-of-war families want to see the experiences of their fathers; more than 200 Zhoushan fishermen families, the good deeds and feats of their fathers should be remembered." And when the audience saw the finished film on the big screen, they saw the restoration using film techniques. A piece of history - countless thrilling moments that happened in the 25 hours between being torpedoed and completely sinking - everything will become clear.
In order to restore the historical truth, the film crew traveled to many museums, historical materials halls, and memorial halls. The picture shows Fang Li (seated) browsing historical documents.
With the warmth of history, "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru" links many empathetic feelings about life and human nature. Love, family affection, comrades-in-arms, all those beautiful human emotions came to an abrupt end during the war, and they were buried at the bottom of the sea with their young lives. The war left many tombstones and long-lasting pain for the living. Fang Li said, "It tortures my heart every day, as if I have experienced a complete war."
At the premiere in Shanghai, many viewers shed tears. This situation made him confirm how precious "returning to the scene" is. On the one hand, the last three witnesses of the incident that the film crew interviewed after many twists and turns - two survivors of British prisoners of war and Lin Agen, a Zhoushan fisherman who participated in the rescue, are now no longer alive. These rescued images will be integrated into human history together with other historical materials. On the other hand, 8 years after he devoted his efforts to the "Lisbon Pill", history has "grown" in Fang Li's own life, "I may never let it go." After
completes its premiere in Shanghai, the film studio will promote the domestic release and global distribution of "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru". "I sincerely hope that through the Shanghai International Film Festival platform, this period of history will be more widely seen and its coordinates will be remembered." Fang Li said that that is the highest value of a movie.
Author: Wang Yan
Text: Our reporter Wang Yan Picture: Picture provided by the film editor: Shi Wei Editor: Xing Xiaofang
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