Recently, the 35th China Golden Rooster Awards, China's top film awards, were announced. The documentary film Remembering 1950, produced by China Intercontinental Communication Center (CICC) and Yongshun (Beijing) Film Production Co., Ltd., won the Best Documentary/Science and Education Film Award.

The film is currently the only one of its kind that uses oral history to recapture the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950–1953) and promote its spirit. It focuses on 26 veterans of the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV), covering 11 arms including artillery, infantry, scouts, engineers and medical soldiers. Their in-person recall and account of their experiences take the audience back to the war-torn years, showing the soldiers' heroism in fighting for the motherland, iron will in hard times and fearlessness in front of danger. The film not only brings back the days of these CPV veterans on the battlefields, but also retains the invaluable memories of a nation and its people.

'If we don't preserve this history, it is a dereliction of duty'

The origin of the documentary film Remembering 1950 has its roots in a set of investigative interviews for the preparation of a feature film of the same title. In 2020, which marked the 70th anniversary of Chinese People's Volunteers entering the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to fight against U.S. aggression and aid Korea, film director Song Kunru visited China International Communication Center with some interview materials from the veterans.

Film director Song Kunru (first from left) of Remembering 1950 with veterans.

"I am fighting for my motherland now, so I must do my best." "Our plan was to fight to the death." "I was 17 at that time." … The simple words of the veterans were so thrilling that every audience was deeply moved. Seventy years ago, these young men and women enlisted in the armed forces and went to the battlefield with determination to defend their homes and country, and dedicated their youth and even lives for peace and happiness of our country. Now 70 years have passed, and these veterans are aged between 86 and 98, with an average age of 88.