Displaying items by tag: Under a Bamboo Sky movie
Under a Bamboo Sky
UNDER A BAMBOO SKY
Australia, 2025, 77 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Serge Ou.
A documentary to be recommended, moving, informative, challenging.
From the distributors’ site:
The story of one group of Australian POWs, whose three-year journey across four countries is told through the actual voices of 63 men of various ranks, who were aged between 18 and 32 at the time of their capture in early 1942 and who lived to tell their stories.
The interviews were recorded more than 50 years after their liberation, found among an archive of some 2000 interviews, some recorded in 1999-2000 for the ABC TV Australians at War series, with many more conducted for the UNSW Australians at War film archive and by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
While some had shared their stories many times, for others it was the first telling. For all, it was the opportunity to ensure their stories became a matter of public record, never to be forgotten.
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 the unbelievable story of Australian soldiers held prisoner by the Japanese in WWII.
Using their own words, their own voices, Under a Bamboo Sky weaves the recollections (oral testimony) of more than 60 former POWs together with newly colourised archival material and new location footage to deliver a moving, intimate 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: forced into slave labour building the Thai Burma Railway, shipwrecked at sea, and sent into factories and down coal mines in Japan. After bearing witness to some of WWII’s most history-defining events, they tell of returning home to families, wives and sweethearts after years away, and of the price they paid for the trauma they endured.
Shining through the horrors of war is the spirit of these men who, remarkably, demonstrate an inspiring human capacity to find beauty in their surroundings and hold onto hope in the worst of circumstances. Under A Bamboo Sky is their story.
16 Mar, 2026
RSL Australia is proud to be a key sponsor of the new feature documentary: Under a Bamboo Sky - a previously untold story of Australian POWs, brought to life 80 years after the end of WWII and produced by ABCG Film Distribution in collaboration with WildBear Entertainment.
The film will have its World Premiere on March 25 in Canberra before rolling out special in-cinema events across the country in the lead up to ANZAC Day, offering a chance to experience the film at its most immersive, and providing an opportunity for collective remembrance and learning for a future generation.
Synopsis
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 the unbelievable story of Australian soldiers held prisoner by the Japanese in WWII.
Using their own words, their own voices, Under a Bamboo Sky weaves the recollections (oral testimony) of more than 60 former POWs together with newly colourised archival material and new location footage to deliver a moving, intimate 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: forced into slave labour building the Thai Burma Railway, shipwrecked at sea, and sent into factories and down coal mines in Japan. After bearing witness to some of WWII’s most history-defining events, they tell of returning home to families, wives and sweethearts after years away, and of the price they paid for the trauma they endured.
Shining through the horrors of war is the spirit of these men who, remarkably, demonstrate an inspiring human capacity to find beauty in their surroundings and hold onto hope in the worst of circumstances. Under A Bamboo Sky is their story.
