
Under a Bamboo Sky(2026)
A tale of human connection, hope and resilience in the face of great tragedy, Under a Bamboo Sky is an untold story of Australian soldiers held prisoner by the Japanese in WWII.
A tale of human connection, hope and resilience in the face of great tragedy, Under a Bamboo Sky uses new technology to bring to life an untold story of Australian soldiers held prisoner by the Japanese in WWII. Using their own words, their own voices, the film weaves the recollections of more than 60 former POWs with newly colourised archival material and new location footage to deliver a moving and revelatory first-hand account of their experience. Captured during the Japanese offensive and imprisoned in Singapore’s Changi Barracks, the film follows the years long journey of these soldiers through four countries. After bearing witness to some of WWII’s most history-defining events, they tell of returning home to families, wives and sweethearts, and of the price they paid for the trauma they endured. Shining through the horrors of war is the spirit of these men and an inspiring human capacity to find beauty in their surroundings and hold onto hope in the worst of circumstances.

Movie: Under a Bamboo Sky
Video Trailer Under a Bamboo Sky
Recommendations Movies
7.6Night Will Fall(en)
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
6.5Why We Fight: Prelude to War(en)
Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.
6.5Wolf Hound(en)
Inspired by the real-life German special operations unit KG 200 that shot down, repaired, and flew Allied aircraft as Trojan horses, "Wolf Hound" takes place in 1944 German-occupied France and follows the daring exploits of Jewish-American fighter pilot Captain David Holden. Ambushed behind enemy lines, Holden must rescue a captured B-17 Flying Fortress crew, evade a ruthless enemy stalking him at every turn, and foil a plot that could completely alter the outcome of World War II.
7.0Visions of Light(en)
Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.
7.0The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing(en)
Documentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.
7.4Red Army(en)
A documentary highlighting the Soviet Union's legendary and enigmatic hockey training culture and world-dominating team through the eyes of the team's Captain Slava Fetisov, following his shift from hockey star and celebrated national hero to political enemy.
7.2City of Ghosts(en)
With unprecedented access, this documentary follows the extraordinary journey of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently”—a group of anonymous citizen journalists who banded together after their homeland was overtaken by ISIS—as they risk their lives to stand up against one of the greatest evils in the world today.
6.9Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound(en)
The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.
7.9Five Came Back(en)
The extraordinary story of how Hollywood changed World War II – and how World War II changed Hollywood, through the interwoven experiences of five legendary filmmakers who went to war to serve their country and bring the truth to the American people: John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens. Based on Mark Harris’ best-selling book, “Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War.”
7.2Love, Gilda(en)
Diaries, audiotapes, videotapes and testimonials from friends and colleagues offer insight into the life and career of Gilda Radner -- the beloved comic and actress who became an icon on Saturday Night Live.
5.9We Go In at Dawn(en)
When a high-ranking war planner is captured and held in a German prisoner of war camp, a team of specialists take on the dangerous mission of trying to break him out. Trouble is, he doesn't want to be rescued.
7.2The Bloody Hundredth(en)
Meet the real-life airmen who inspired Masters of the Air as they share the harrowing and transformative events of the 100th Bomb Group.
6.1Naqoyqatsi(en)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
6.6The Age of Stupid(en)
Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?
7.5The War on Democracy(en)
Set both in Latin America and the United States, the film explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. Pilger says that the film "...tells a universal story... analysing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called "war on terror". According to Pilger, the film’s message is that the greed and power of empire is not invincible and that people power is always the "seed beneath the snow".
6.5Father Soldier Son(en)
When Sgt. First Class Brian Eisch is critically wounded in Afghanistan, it sets him and his sons on a journey of love, loss, redemption and legacy.
7.8The Skywalker Legacy(en)
The story lives forever in this feature-length documentary that charts the making of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
6.1The Battle of San Pietro(en)
This documentary movie is about the battle of San Pietro, a small village in Italy. Over 1,100 US soldiers were killed while trying to take this location, that blocked the way for the Allied forces from the Germans. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2005.
6.2Cornered(en)
A World War II veteran hunts down the Nazi collaborators who killed his wife.
6.89/11: Inside the President's War Room(en)
Experience the events of September 11, 2001 through the eyes of President Bush and his closest advisors as they personally detail the crucial hours and key decisions from that historic day.
Similar Movies
6.0Iwo Jima: 36 Days of Hell(en)
A documentary on the famous World War II battle, using only on-ground footage from Marines and interviews with veterans.
6.9The Man Who Cracked the Nazi Code: The Story of Alan Turing(fr)
During the Second World War, the allies' key objective was to crack the German army's encrypted communications code. Without a doubt, the key player in this game was Alan Turing, an interdisciplinary scientist and a long-forgotten hero.
6.8Victory in the West(de)
A Nazi propaganda film about the lead up to World War II and Germany's success on the Western Front. Utilizes newsreel footage of battles and fell into disfavour with propaganda minister Goebbels because of it's lack of emphasis on Adolf Hitler.
0.0The Forger(en)
Adolfo Kaminsky started saving lives when chance and necessity made him a master forger. As a teenager, he became a member of the French Resistance and used his talent to save the lives of thousands of Jews. The Forger is a well-crafted origin story of a real-life superhero.
6.9Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story(en)
The life and career of the hailed Hollywood movie star and underappreciated genius inventor, Hedy Lamarr.
Heil Hitler! Confessions of a Hitler Youth(en)
This short-form documentary focuses on the true story of Alfons Heck, who as an impressionable 10-year-old boy became a high-ranking member of the Hitler youth movement during World War II. The story is told in his own words. This film originally aired as part of the "America Undercover" series on HBO.
8.2The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity(ja)
Kaji, sent to the Japanese army labeled Red, witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against a fellow recruit. He also sees his friend Shinjô defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.
8.4The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer(ja)
After the Japanese defeat to the Russians, Kaji leads the last remaining men through Manchuria. Intent on returning to his old life, he faces great odds in a variety of different harrowing circumstances as he and his men sneak behind enemy lines.
0.0Naughty America: Guns & Stripes(en)
A short portrait of the United States, conceived from historical footage of Native Americans to police bodycam recordings and strip club scenes. This short film reflects on the tensions, contradictions, and realities that shape the nation. It is presented as a segment from the larger work Naughty America.
5.9The East(nl)
A young Dutch soldier deployed to suppress post-WWII independence efforts in the Netherlands’ colony of Indonesia finds himself torn between duty and conscience when he joins an increasingly ruthless commander’s elite squad.
7.1The Forgotten Battle(nl)
During WWII's crucial Battle of the Scheldt, the lives of a glider pilot, a Nazi soldier and a reluctant Resistance recruit tragically intersect.
0.0Hidden Battles(en)
Dramatic and deeply personal film about the psychological impact of killing on the lives of five soldiers. Representing a cross section of nationalities, gender, class and race, these soldiers reveal intimate memories about the central act of war, the killing of another human being. How do these individuals make sense of what they have done? What happens when time challenges their carefully constructed stories? Consciously apolitical but deeply psychological, Hidden Battles examines the strength and struggles of men and women who kill and how they create a life for themselves afterward.
6.7The Gathering Storm(en)
A love story offering an intimate look inside the marriage of Winston and Clementine Churchill during a particularly troubled, though little-known, moment in their lives.
6.4Into the Storm(en)
This powerful follow-up to “The Gathering Storm” follows Churchill from 1940 to 1945 as he guided his beleaguered nation through the crucible of the war years--even as his marriage was encountering its own struggles.
0.0My Air Raid Shelter(ja)
The fourth film in Shin-Ei's series of annual WWII themed anime television movies for children "Sensou Douwa".
7.2The Deluge(pl)
During the Swedish invasion of Poland, the brave warrior Andrzej Kmicic, considered a traitor to the nation, fights for a country, redemption and love across the 17th-century Polish territories.
0.0Saved by Language(en)
Can a language save your life? Yes it can, even an ancient one from the 15th century. Saved by Language tells the story of Moris Albahari, a Sephardic Jew from Sarajevo (born 1930), who spoke Ladino/Judeo-Spanish, his mother tongue, to survive the Holocaust. Moris used Ladino to communicate with an Italian Colonel who helped him escape to a Partizan refuge after he ran away from the train taking Yugoslavian Jews to Nazi death camps. By speaking in Ladino to a Spanish-speaking US pilot in 1944 he was able to survive and lead the pilot, along with his American and British colleagues, to a safe Partizan airport.



