The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru
Dir: Fang Li
Prod Cos: Zhejiang Laurel Films, Emei Film Group, Shanghai PMF Pictures
Cast: Fang Li, Tony Banham, Lin Agen, Dennis Morley, William Beningfield
Genre: Documentary
2024 | Colour | Putonghua | Chi & Eng Subtitles | 122min
In 2014, Chinese geophysicist and filmmaker Fang Li overheard a story about the rescue of a group of foreign prisoners of war by fishermen from Dongji Island during the Japanese Occupation. Utilising modern technology, Fang searched for and found the shipwreck of the Lisbon Maru in the surrounding waters, and travelled around the globe to piece together the untold story of its sinking…
In 1942, 1,816 British soldiers captured in Hong Kong were forced by the Japanese army onto the converted cargo ship Lisbon Maru, to be transported to Japan for hard labour. The prisoners are crammed into the narrow cargo hold with insufficient food and dismal living conditions. A few days later, the Lisbon Maru is mistaken for a Japanese army supply ship and attacked by the US forces in waters to the east of the Zhoushan Islands, setting off a chain of inhumane events…
| Date | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 30/8/2025 (Sat) ^ [ Free tickets have all been distributed ] | 11:00am | Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive |
| 30/8/2025 (Sat) * | 3:00pm | Discovery Zone, Upper Redoubt, Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence |
| 31/8/2025 (Sun) ^ | 3:00pm | Theatre, Hong Kong Heritage Museum |
| 3/9/2025 (Wed) # | 2:30pm | Lecture Hall, Hong Kong Museum of History |
* Pre-screening talk
^ Post-screening talk with Dr Henry Chiu
The contents of the programme do not represent the views of the presenter. The presenter reserves the right to change the programme should unavoidable circumstances make it necessary.