page_title: Nanking (2007 film)
section_title: Release and reaction
hierarchical_section_title: Nanking (2007 film) / Release and reaction
caption_attribution_description: English: PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS Ted Leonsis 68th Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon Waldorf=Astoria Hotel New York, NY USA May 18, 2009
context_page_description: Nanking is a 2007 documentary film about the Nanking Massacre, committed in 1937 by the Japanese army in the former capital city Nanjing, China. It was inspired by Iris Chang's book The Rape of Nanking, which discussed the persecution and murder of the Chinese by the Imperial Japanese Army in the then-capital of Nanjing at the outset of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The film draws on letters and diaries from the era as well as archive footage and interviews with surviving victims and perpetrators of the massacre. Contemporary actors play the roles of the Western missionaries, professors, and businessmen who formed the Nanking Safety Zone to protect the city's civilians from Japanese forces. Particular attention is paid to Nazi Party member John Rabe, a German businessman who organized the Nanking Safety Zone, Robert O. Wilson, a surgeon who remained in Nanking to care for legions of victims, and Minnie Vautrin, a missionary educator who rendered aid to thousands of Nanking's women.
context_section_description: Nanking has received numerous positive reviews, including one from Reuters that says that the "beautifully crafted film...honors the highest calling of documentary filmmaking."  It was accepted to the Sundance Film Festival in January, 2007 and nominated for the Grand Jury Prize (Documentary); the film was awarded honors for Documentary Editing. In 2008, this documentary was awarded the Peabody Award. Japanese right-wing nationalist filmmaker Satoru Mizushima called the film a "setup by China to control intelligence," and plans to release his own documentary, The Truth about Nanjing, in which the massacre is portrayed as merely political propaganda. On his blog, Nanking producer Ted Leonsis responded by saying: "Our film isn't an anti-Japanese film. It is an anti-war film."
  In July 2007, the film premiered in Beijing and opened in China.
  On November 19, 2007, Nanking was named by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as one of 15 films on its documentary feature Oscar shortlist. It was not retained when the list was narrowed to the final five nominations. Guttentag, Sturman, and Bentley received a nomination for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay.
caption: Ted Leonsis at the 68th Annual Peabody Awards for Nanking
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