Trinity CineAsia has acquired European rights to $80M war epic Dongji Rescue (aka Dong Ji Island), inspired by the real story of the rescue by Chinese fisherman of British POWs from a WWII shipwreck off the coast of Zhejiang province in China.
Europe-wide distributor Trinity CineAsia has secured exclusive rights from 7th Art Pictures for the WWII action thriller across European territories, including the UK and Ireland.
Co-directed by Cannes award-winning filmmaker Guan Hu (Black Dog, The Eight Hundred), who is also renowned for his large-scale war epics, Dongji Rescue is slated for release in the UK and Ireland on August 22, 2025, with other European territories to follow from August 29.
It will open domestically on August 8. The UK premiere will be held on August 15, tying in with the 80th anniversary of WWII VJ Day, at Odeon Leicester Square, London, and will be attended by the cast, Zhu Yilong, Ni Ni, William Franklyn-Miller, director Guan Hu, and executive producer and producer Liang Jing
Dongji Rescue is inspired by the true story of the Lisbon Maru – a Japanese cargo ship transporting around 1,800 British POWs from Hong Kong when it was wrongly torpedoed by an American submarine in October 1942, making it one of the deadliest maritime disasters involving British servicemen during the war.
Over 800 survivors escaped certain death thanks to the spontaneous rescue of Chinese fishermen from nearby Dongji Island.
Dongji Rescue features Chinese stars Zhu Yilong (Only the River Flows, Lost in the Stars), Wu Lei (Shadow, Nirvana in Fire), and Ni Ni (The Flowers of War, The Rise of Phoenixes), alongside rising British newcomer William Franklyn-Miller (neuromance).
“After our recent success releasing films in Europe, we found now was not the time to stop,” said Cedric Behrel, Executive Director of Trinity CineAsia. “Guan Hu is an extraordinary filmmaker, and his track record speaks for itself, having won a prize in Cannes last year for Black Dog and amassed more than $400m at the box office.”
He added that Dongji Rescue is the company’s third collaboration with 7th Art Pictures, after Black Dog and The Eight Hundred.
Liang Jing, for 7th Art Pictures, said the UK and subsequent European release of Dongji Rescue marked a significant step the film.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Trinity CineAsia to bring this touching story, buried in the dust of modern history, to global audiences, especially to the British audience – so that the descendants of British soldiers who survived that disaster know: we are still here, we still remember this story!,” he said.
“Director Guan Hu has been brewing this story for years. Today, we have finally fulfilled his wish, letting the “those in peril at sea must be saved” spirit of the Dongji Islanders live again.”
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