RAS Shanghai – The Poseidon Project Documentary – 19/2/13
Posted: February 18th, 2014 | No Comments »RAS Ad Hoc Study Group
WEDNESDAY 19th February 2014
7pmÂ
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The Apartment
(47 Yongfu Lu, near Wuyuan Lu)
The Poseidon Project
RAS hosts the Shanghai premier of this new documentary, presented by the director Arthur Jones.
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An American scuba diver.
A lost British submarine.
A secret Chinese history.
The Poseidon Project is a documentary about a British submarine that sank off the coast of China in 1931, and the American explorer who spent six years looking for it.
In 1931, Britain’s most advanced submarine sank off the coast of China. Three hours later, six sailors became the first men to escape from a sunken sub using a proto-scuba device. But what became of the lost submarine? Steven Schwankert’s six-year obsession with HMS Poseidon uncovered a secret history.
Beijing-based journalist and part-time scuba instructor Steven Schwankert was looking for interesting wrecks to dive in northern China when he found HMS Poseidon on a list of unexplored dive sites. His private obsession with bringing wreck diving to China became a public and personally high-risk mission to uncover a secret history of political intrigue that took him half way across the world in search of evidence.
On June the 9th 1931, one of Britain’s most advanced submarines collided with a cargo ship off the coast of China. Half of the crew escaped in the first few seconds, but the rest of the men sank 40 metres down to the bottom of the sea, entombed in their boat. Three hours later, six sailors surfaced, barely conscious and bitterly cold, as their comrades watched on in amazement. They were the first men ever to escape alive from a sunken submarine using a proto- scuba device.
Their story hit newspaper headlines worldwide and went on to inspire a feature film, released later that year. Their miraculous escape changed marine safety forever, leading to a revolution in submarine design and a big leap forward in our understanding of decompression sickness. But their names, and their submarine, gradually sank into obscurity.
Steven Schwankert’s six-year search for the submarine revealed a story that was far more complicated than he had first expected, challenging official accounts of the escape, and uncovering the truth behind the forgotten wreck.
Arthur and Luther Jones’ previous work includes A Farewell Song, a documentary about a group of retired Chinese musicians who reunite to perform a series of concerts outside of the state-backed music system. The film won the Special Jury Prize for Documentaries at the 2006 Syracuse International Film Festival. The British brothers have also made commissioned films for the Special Olympics movement and the World Expo.
“The challenge in making The Poseidon Project was to take subject matter that might seem like the basis for a traditional maritime history documentary and make it feel urgent and personal. The submarine’s story was clearly very interesting and as we learnt more about its fate, and about the crew and their experiences on board, we knew we had a fascinating moment of history on our hands.
But the truth is that we were drawn to the story initially because of Steven Schwankert as much as the submarine. We liked the way he didn’t hide his emotional journey. On days when he was feeling like the project was coming apart at the seams, he didn’t stop himself from appearing grumpy on camera. And when his discoveries excited him, he beamed like a child. He also had a deep understanding of what it means to live and work in China – the importance of knowing when to push hard and when to tread softly. That made his story all the more intriguing.â€
Limited space. For reservations email adhocstudygroup@royalasiaticsociety.org
ENTRANCE: Â Members 70 RMB – Non Members 100 RMB
WEBSITE: Â www.royalasiaticsociety.org.cn
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