A new documentary just premiered last week which provides a different perspective of the infamous story about the Titanic, a British passenger liner that sank during its maiden voyage after striking an iceberg in 1912.
In this documentary titled “The Six,” director Arthur Jones and lead researcher Steven Schwankert share the “unknown story” about six Chinese men who were among about 700 people to survive the Titanic’s sinking and, in the process, dispel the myths about them.
According to legend, the Chinese survivors had allegedly sneaked onto a lifeboat by disguising themselves as women or hiding on the raft. But Jones and Schwankert painstakingly researched, contacted living descendants now living across different countries, and delved deep into the archives just to piece together what had happened to those six men, most of whom were sailors.
The documentary not only reveals the six’s experience aboard the fateful ship but also talks about the prejudice they faced after when they were shipped out of New York upon arriving with the other survivors within 24 hours due to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
Even Oscar-winning director James Cameron behind the 1997 film fully supported the creation of this documentary, serving as its executive producer and allowing the inclusion of a scene that wasn’t included in the cinema version of the movie that showed an Asian-looking man hanging on for life on a piece of wood and getting saved from the freezing water.
“The Six: The Untold Story Of RMS Titanic’s Chinese Passengers” premiered in Chinese cinemas on April 16. It has yet to be announced when it will be released for international audiences.
(ALSO READ: LOOK: New pictures of wrecked Titanic surface after 14 years!)
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