A new documentary now in production will uncover the story of six Chinese immigrants who survived the sinking of the Titanic but never got to tell their story.
The infamous Titanic crash in 1912 killed more than 1,500 and is known as one of the deadliest maritime tragedies in history. It inspired James Cameron to make the romance box office hit, Titanic, featuring Leonardo DeCaprio and Kate Winslet.
The Six, directed by Arthur Jones, spotlights who the six survivors are, how they survived, and why they vanished from the records. The documentary explains the six survivors were escorted to Ellis Island after escaping the cold but were forced to leave within 24 hours of their arrival because of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Konbini reports.
New #TheSix trailer is going a little crazy on Facebook. Thanks for all the support! https://t.co/ekG8pZ1A1u @greatwriteshark #documentary
— Arthur Jones (@arthurjones) June 24, 2017
The Chinese Exclusion Act, established in 1882, prohibited all Chinese immigrants from entering the country out of fear that Chinese laborers were taking the jobs of Americans. It was the first law implemented in American history that rejected a certain ethnic group from coming into the U.S.
The act was eventually repealed in 1943.
Using political documents and stories from their families, Jones and Steven Schwankert investigate the identities of the six mysterious Chinese immigrants whose stories were never told until now.
“One of the things we’re trying to do is give them their place in history. To say this is who they are, this is who their descendants are,” Jones said in the trailer.
The Six will be released in 2018.
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