The sinking of the Lisbon MaruA documentary submitted by China as an entry in the Oscar competition for best international feature film has been deemed ineligible for the award. hollywood reporter Learned exclusively.
Confirmed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences THR The film failed to meet the minimum language requirements for the award – according to Oscar rules, a film must have “predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue tracks” to be eligible – and because Lisbon Maru It was submitted before the October 2 submission deadline, and once the problem was discovered, it would be too late for China to submit another film.
The sinking of the Lisbon Maruwhich is caused by Fan Ming, Li Fang and Gong LiliIt tells the story of the “Death Ship”, a cargo ship requisitioned by the Japanese Army during World War II. On October 1, 1942, the ship, which was being used to transport prisoners of war between Hong Kong and Japan, was torpedoed by an unsuspecting American submarine in the East China Sea. 384 British prisoners of war were rescued by Chinese fishermen, but 828 died, drowned, or were shot by Japanese soldiers while trying to escape.
Although the film is no longer eligible for the Academy Award for Best International Feature, it is still eligible for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and a campaign is underway to gain that recognition. The film will screen at the Asia World Film Festival on November 18 before preliminaries begin on November 22 at the Laemmle Monica Film Center in Santa Monica, where director Li Fang will also be in attendance.
Two Chinese films nominated for 1990s Oscars for Best International Feature Film Ju Dou and 2002 hero. Neither won.
