By Xinyi Li, EDITOR
On May 13, Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum held an Academic Salon of the Collection of Overseas Historical Videos about the Rear Area in the War of Resistance & Film Viewing of the Documentary Finding Kukan.
On May 13, Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum held the Academic Salon of the Collection of Overseas Historical Videos about the Rear Area in the War of Resistance & Film Viewing of the Documentary Finding Kukan
Kukan: The Battle Cry of China, which generally known as Kukan, is a documentary color film from the US. After the outburst, the War of Resistance, Rey Scott, an American journalist, came to China four times from 1937 to 1940 to record those years. The film was co-sponsored and co-produced by Chinese Hawaii-born artist Li Ling-Ai. Traveling for over 15 thousand kilometers, Rey Scott filmed the war-torn Shanghai, Nanjing, Chongqing and other places, where millions of homeless refugees were roaming about for safety. This film also represents the firm, tenacious, and courageous Chinese people who faced up to the formidable enemy.
The public regards Kukan as “a Western-created valuable movie file that has revealed the Bombing of Chongqing in the completed and systematic way”. Upon shown in the US, this film obtained great success, becoming the first non-fiction feature winner the Oscar. It also promoted the understanding of Americans to China’s struggles in the War and brought the latter more assistance. It is said that Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the then President of the US, watched the film and wrote an inscription to present Chongqing.
Finding Kugan is a documentary to record the background story of the Oscar-winning film Kugan
However, this film had disappeared after the Second World War, and Li Ling-Ai and her role in the shooting and production processes of Kukan became unknown to all gradually.
Fortunately, Robin Lung, a Chinese American filmmaker, spent eight years and eventually found the original version. He stepped much further to research Li Ling-Ai, Rey Scott, and their film of Kukan and told the story in the documentary named Finding Kukan.
On May 13, Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum, Chongqing Local History Research Association, Chongqing Research Association for the History and Culture of the Rear Area in the War of Resistance co-held the viewing and exchange activity. It has invited scholars and professors from colleges and universities, R&D institutions, and news agencies around Chongqing to watch the 75-minute documentary Finding Kukan and share their insights.
Source: Chongqing Daily News