The North American premiere of the Chinese film “Dead to Rights” was held on Wednesday, August 6, in Washington, D.C., drawing more than 200 guests from various communities.
The powerful historical drama has already become a box office success in China and will officially open in major theaters across the United States and Canada on August 15.

Set amid the Nanjing Massacre of 1937, the film follows postman A Chang, who, in order to save his life, pretends to work in a photo studio, developing photos for the Japanese army. He takes in a group of Chinese soldiers and civilians, turning the studio into a temporary shelter. In the face of the Japanese army’s cruel atrocities, A Chang risks his life to help the refugees and expose evidence of the massacre to the public.

After the premiere, audience members expressed the importance of remembering this history. American journalist Bill Jones said of the film: “I think it’s important to see the type of brutality that was expressed in the mentality that had developed in different ways in Germany and in Japan, leading up to that war.”

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng, who attended the event and delivered a speech, said the film “It reminds us of the cruelty of war and the value of peace, urging us to learn from the past and shape the future.”

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