ONODA: 10,000 NIGHTS IN THE JUNGLE

A Refocus Film Festival Selection

Inspired by Bernard Cendron and Gérard Chenu's 1974 biography Onoda, seul en guerre dans la jungle and based on the life of Hiroo Onoda, the film follows a 22-year-old Japanese soldier trained for intelligence work on Lubang, a small island in the Philippines, as he retreats into the jungles after World War II has ended only to continue the fight for 10,000 days. Waiting for the Americans to land on the island, he stays steadfast in his duties, standing firm in the belief that he must stay alive whatever happens, and that the mission is more important than anything else. This epic story of a man who refuses to believe the truth about the war despite all the evidence to the contrary that he is given over a 30 year period, serves as an indictment of rabid patriotism and its connection to conspiracy theories and fake news that still looms large today.

Official Selection: 2021 Cannes, Karlovy Vary, Busan Thessaloniki film festivals; 2022 New Directors/New Films