The Valour and the Horror: Savage Christmas, Hong-Kong 1941 (1992)

This film is part of the Valour and the Horror series, three controversial films on Canadian involvement in World War II. In the autumn of 1941, nearly 2,000 inexperienced Canadian soldiers were sent to Hong Kong at the request of the British government as a symbolic show of strength that would deter a Japanese attack on the colony. Canada's soldiers found themselves in the midst of a desperate battle they could not hope to win. On Christmas Day, 1941, the British colony of Hong Kong officially surrendered to Japan. The surviving defenders became prisoners of war. Over the next three and a half years, many of them would come to envy the dead.

Directed by: Brian McKenna
Written by: Terence McKenna, Brian McKenna
Edited by: Alfonso Peccia
Cinematography: Neville Ottey
Produced by: Arnie Gelbart, André Lamy
Coproduced with: Adam Symansky, Darce Fardy (NFB-ONF)