A poster of “Against All Odds.”

“Against All Odds,” a Chinese film partly shot in Pingshan District, will premiere nationwide on Sept. 3. The film honors the wartime contributions of local guerrillas and is released to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Co-presented by the publicity departments of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee and co-produced by Shenzhen Film Studio, the film stars Han Geng, Mitchell Hoog, Chen Yongsheng, and Louise Wong.

Inspired by true events, “Against All Odds” recounts how the Hong Kong and Kowloon Independence Brigade — part of the Dongjiang Column of the Guangdong People’s Guerrilla Force Against Japanese Aggression — rescued an Allied pilot stranded behind enemy lines. The story also highlights the close ties forged between Chinese and American forces during the global fight against fascism.

After Hong Kong fell to Japanese forces on Dec. 25, 1941, the Guangdong People’s Guerrilla Force Against Japanese Aggression sent guerrillas into the city. In 1942, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Independence Brigade was formed. Over three years and eight months, the brigade attacked enemy outposts, ambushed supply convoys, and rescued dozens of Allied airmen — including members of the U.S. “Flying Tigers” —as well as other international allies.

A poster of “Against All Odds.”

The film centers on the legendary 1944 rescue of a downed U.S. pilot. To recreate wartime Hong Kong, the production team built full-scale replicas of Hung Hom and Wan Chai streetscapes in Pingshan District and filmed in the sea-eroded caves of Dapeng New Area. The film features intense sequences of air raids, explosions, and urban combat to evoke the era’s peril and heroism.

The Dongjiang Column of the Guangdong People’s Guerrilla Force Against Japanese Aggression was formed in 1943 after several reorganizations of earlier guerrilla units. Operating across Shenzhen and neighboring areas, its fighters engaged in more than 1,400 battles against Japanese and puppet forces, inflicted over 6,000 enemy casualties, and rescued more than 800 patriotic intellectuals and democratic figures.

During World War II, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Independence Brigade rescued at least 89 Allied servicemen and international allies and provided U.S. forces with intelligence on Hong Kong’s airport, docks, and Japanese troop dispositions.

The Dongjiang Column Memorial Hall in Pingshan and the former Dongjiang Column headquarters in Dapeng are now designated revolutionary heritage sites, preserving the column’s legacy and serving as venues for patriotic education.

The Dongjiang Column Memorial Hall in Pingshan District.