DIRECTOR: Fang Li STARRING: documentary RUNNING TIME: 2 hrs 2 minutes LANGUAGE: Mandarin, English
This is the "Dunkirk" of the East, a documentary movie commemorating the great feat of Chinese fishermen. Filmmaker Fang Li and the film crew try to find the truth of the World War II "Death Ship" - Lisbon Maru.
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This film is the directorial debut for Fang Li. He was originally a geophysicist and marine technical expert, and later engaged in film. In 2014, when he was supervising Han Han's work No Future, he accidentally heard local fishermen tell the story of the Lisbon Maru. From the time he learned about this, he led a team to explore and to find the shipwreck. "After finding the ship, I want to find people related to the ship and want to know their stories and what they have experienced 82 years ago. This is how the story was dug up. Now, it's time to tell them to more people," Fang Li said. The film made its worldwide debut at the BFI London Film Festival in August 2023, before heading to the Shanghai Film Festival in June 2024. It has since debuted in theatres across China.
It was announced on September 27th that the documentary The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru will represent China in the competition for the 97th Academy Awards.
The film is produced by Laurel Films and Emei Film Studio.
The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru is a documentary.
To check out all previous submissions for China, click HERE.