Point du Jour International | RAPE OF NANKING (The), Serge VIALLET

China, at the end of 1937: Shanghai, the largest city in China, continued to hold out against the invading Japanese army who had expected the city to fall within 8 days. In their sight, the next target, 300km to the west of Shanghai: NANKING, the capital.
While moving from one city to the next, the military of the Emperor of the Sun had pillaged, burnt and massacred…they took no prisoners. The trap began to close, slowly, inexorably …and terrifyingly. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and soldiers were caught in the capital with its surrounding high defensive walls. The massacres were to continue for several weeks after the rape of Nanking on 13 Dec. 1937.
Our documentary follows the chronology of events. What triggered such a prolonged outburst of unbridled violence on the civilian population, on prisoners? The testimonies of the last surviving Japanese veterans – set against the memories of surviving Chinese witnesses – offer the most credible explanation.
What happened in Nanking is a mirror image of the war conducted by Japan in China and the Pacific region between 1931 and 1946 – a war of colonisation that cost the lives of 20 million people.

Festivals and Awards:
* 2008: History & Biography Documentary Golden Award (Magnolia Award) - Shanghai TV Festival, China
* 2008: Award for Best Use of Footage in Factual Productions (FOCAL International Awards, Londres, UK
* 2008: Award "Etoile de la SCAM" (French author's union), Festival Etonnants Voyageurs, Saint Malo, France

RAPE OF NANKING (The)

Director(s): Serge VIALLET – Writer(s): Serge VIALLET Contact Print page