Film: The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru

UK release March 2025

The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru - Wikipedia
The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru is the first feature-length documentary about the tragedy of the Lisbon Maru during WWII. Produced and directed by Fang Li, co-directed by Ming Fan and Lily Gong, it features Brian Finch, Tony Banham, Lin Agen, Dennis Morley, William Bannifield and family members of British POWs who were captured in Asia.

 

Thanks for posting Clive. I believe there are a few WW2 based projects much like this being considered about now.

 

Has anyone here seen this film? If so, could you let us have some thoughts on it?
Many Thanks,
Col

 

Never heard of the place and the name was no trace here. I spotted it within a BBC News report on continuing Sino-Japanese tension over WW2. Then I found this thread.

Back to the film:

From: Nanjing: How the massacre still haunts China-Japan relations

The film has been released in China and now in the USA, so there is a mass of online articles, mainly from Chinese outlets and this report is not Chinese. It starts with:

From: ’Dongji Rescue’ review: Rousing Chinese war film recounts the Lisbon Maru tragedy

There is a local BBC News report too: Memories of two survivors of Japanese PoW boat

There are many threads here id'd with: "lisbon maru" site:ww2talk.com The ship was sunk 27/9 to 1/10/1942 by USN submarine.

 

I've not seen the film, but noticed this about a debate this evening in the Commons:



Other links:

Film review:

The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru review – British wartime tragedy told with potent empathy

Short film about the first showing of the film:



Longer piece with extracts:

 

Thanks for these. It seems the film had a very limited public release, so, I am hoping that it will not be too long before it finds its way to Sky or one of the streaming platforms. I wonder what's behind the timing of Adjournment Debate? There's a memorial in Hong Kong and another at the National Memorial Arboretum - neither of which, I believe, received any government support. It seems invidious after all this time to create a new memorial for the Lisbon Maru unless you also do the same for the Rakuyo Maru, the Buyo Maru, Hofuku Maru and Suez Maru!

We shall not forget .....



RIP

 

It was supposed to be streamed from 15th August. There's a Blu-Ray disc:

https://www.onbuy.com/gb/p/the-sinking-of-the-lisbon-maru-2023-blu-ray-1080p-bd~p117297230/

Or go to Chichester in early October:

The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru - Chichester Cinema at New Park

Dongji Rescue - Chichester Cinema at New Park

 

The adjournment debate is recorded in Hansard here:

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commo...8AC-4F08-A4E0-50D4B5D67B4C/LisbonMaruMemorial

If you download text it will come as HTML so will reopen the web page: best to copy and paste from the page, and save electricity.

 

Thanks for these additional links. I read the note of the debate with interest!

 

Has there been any further releases or showings of this documentary? I'd love to see it as there were a few local men on board.