Zhu Yilong, Ni Ni on ‘Dongji Rescue’ WWII Maritime Epic: ‘Humanism Doesn’t Recognize National Boundaries’

Zhu Yilong, Ni Ni on ‘Dongji Rescue’ WWII Maritime Epic: ‘Humanism Doesn’t Recognize National Boundaries’

Zhu Yilong trained extensively in free diving. Ni Ni built up her physique to look like a 1940s fisherwoman. And for co-director Fei Zhenxiang, the $80 million underwater epic about one of WWII’s most harrowing rescue missions meant working in complete collaboration with his mentor. “Dongji Rescue” dramatizes the real-life Lisbon Maru incident of October 1942, when Chinese fishermen rescued over 800 British prisoners of war after their transpo…

Dongji Rescue (东极岛, Guan Hu & Fei Zhenxiang, 2025)

If someone’s drowning, then you save them no matter what language they speak or where they come from. Such is the simple logic of the Dongji fisherman who risked their lives to rescue British prisoners of war when the boat they were travelling on was torpedoed in the waters near Zhoushan. Inspired by this historical event, Guan Hu and Fei Zhenxiang spin a tale of resistance and righteousness with an unexpected advocation for borderlessness and f…