“A tale of human connection, hope and resilience in the face of great tragedy, Under a Bamboo Sky is an untold story of Australian soldiers held prisoner by the Japanese in WWII.”
A tale of human connection, hope and resilience in the face of great tragedy, Under a Bamboo Sky uses new technology to bring to life an untold story of Australian soldiers held prisoner by the Japanese in WWII. Using their own words, their own voices, the film weaves the recollections of more than 60 former POWs with newly colourised archival material and new location footage to deliver a moving and revelatory first-hand account of their experience. Captured during the Japanese offensive and imprisoned in Singapore’s Changi Barracks, the film follows the years long journey of these soldiers through four countries. After bearing witness to some of WWII’s most history-defining events, they tell of returning home to families, wives and sweethearts, and of the price they paid for the trauma they endured. Shining through the horrors of war is the spirit of these men and an inspiring human capacity to find beauty in their surroundings and hold onto hope in the worst of circumstances.
Director
Status
In Production
Original Language
EN
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
