The European premiere of Dongji Rescue brought the film about the real-life 1942 rescue of British POWs from the Japanese ship Lisbon Maru by Chinese fishermen from Dongji Island to audiences at London’s Leicester Square. For the first time ever, the film brings to light this story from World War II, featuring Chinese stars Zhu Yilong, Ni Ni, Wu Lei, and British newcomer William Franklyn-Miller.

Fans gathered in their droves to celebrate the release of the film this upcoming Friday, and the premiere’s date coinciding with the 80th anniversary of V-J Day, the commemoration of Japan’s surrender, emphasised further the film’s messages around peace, togetherness and unity in the face of wartime brutality.

The film’s producer, Liang Jing, said, “I think the story itself worth telling, and it should be seen by people around the world. […] I believe that is worth our effort to bring a story from 83 years ago to show what happened, what those Chinese fishermen did to show their very innate goodness, their bravery and their very intrinsic human nature.”

Franklyn-Miller, soon set to lead the upcoming George Washington biopic, spoke of the beautiful messages within the film: “The thing that drew me to [the project], apart from the fact that it’s based on the true story and something I’ve never heard before, is also the fact is that it shows that like, no matter what culture you come from, no matter who you are, we’re all human.

And the most important thing is that a life is a life, and coming together… it’s just humanity against brutality, really, so it’s really important that people see it.”

Most poignantly, Anthony Jones, a descendant of one of the POWs, reflected that: “Today’s been especially exciting. I was at the National Arboretum earlier where King Charles and Camilla were obviously honoring the men for V-J day, 80 years on. Now, to come to this screening, which will hopefully again shine a spotlight on an untold story of World War II: it’s a really exciting day.”

Dongji Rescue can be seen in cinemas on the 22nd of August.