More than 70 years after the end of World War II, the tales of the pilots who risked everything to take on Japan in the skies over China are still inspiring. The Rocking Sky, a new documentary from Taiwan, depicts the bravery of these pilots, as well as the pain of those they left behind. It is scheduled to be shown in six U.S. cities later this month, including Washington D.C.
The documentary includes interviews with 40 of the surviving pilots and their relatives and uses animation to show the close combat faced by the pilots. It also intersperses the scenes of air combat with the stories of the young women who saw their loved ones answer the call of duty.
The film, which opened in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China in the fall of 2015 to very favorable reviews, is directed by Chang Chao-wei. It is touring in the United States this month in part because some of the pilots who flew missions for the ROC were descendants of Chinese immigrants in the United States. They returned to the Chinese mainland with a patriotic and selfless heart to defend the motherland and their countrymen against the imperial Japanese invasion.
The Rocking Sky begins its story in 1932, soon after the Central Aviation School was created in anticipation of full-blown war with Japan. Some 1,700 Chinese pilots participated in combat missions against Japan, and an estimated 6 out of 10 gave their lives.
Rather than just a war documentary, the film shows the impact of the war on women by giving witness to the female writers and academics who lived through it. For example, the film includes dramatic passages from a poem by Lin Hui-yin, who had become close to eight young pilots including her own brother; all died during the war.
In Washington, the film will be screened on June 23, 2016 at 7:30pm at Angelika Film Center and Café at Mosaic, 2911 District Avenue, Fairfax VA. For more information, call the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office at 202-895-1853/4. You can watch the trailer at: https://youtu.be/rwJ9gMyUxmA. To reserve your FREE tickets, please visit: http://therockingsky.eventbrite.com.
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