The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru 12A

After showing as part of the Electric Shadows Festival last year, superb documentary The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru returns due to demand, including a screening to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day on Fri 15 Aug.

In October 1942, the Lisbon Maru, a Japanese transport ship secretly carrying over 1,800 British prisoners of war, was torpedoed off the coast of China by an American submarine, unaware of its human cargo. Determined to share the story of the Lisbon Maru and its passengers, Fang Li tracks down many families of British soldiers who lost their lives, and speaks to the few remaining survivors who can tell their stories first hand.

Throught these survivor testimonies, expert interviews, animation and rare archival footage, The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru uncovers the harrowing journey of the prisoners as the ship began to sink, and highlights local Chinese fishermen who risked their lives to rescue as many prisoners as they could.