Stowaway (2001 film)

Stowaway
Theatrical poster
Directed byClarence Fok
Written byLai Man-Cheuk
Produced byNg Yu
Wan Yat Tao
Martini Film
StarringJulian Cheung
Athena Chu
Hu Bing
Distributed byModern Audio (International), Ltd.
Release date
  • 11 October 2001 (2001-10-11)
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese

Stowaway (simplified Chinese: 惊天大逃亡; traditional Chinese: 驚天大逃亡), alternatively known as Snakeheads, is a 2001 Hong Kong action film based on the true story of a group of stowaways from Fuzhou illegally immigrating to the United Kingdom in 2000. In the incident, 58 illegal immigrants suffocated to death in an airtight truck of tomatoes at Dover, England on 20 June 2000.[1]

Synopsis

In June 2000, a group of Fuzhou people spend a fortune for various reasons to be smuggled to the United Kingdom. They are first sent to Quailin, before crossing the border to Vietnam. After waiting there for fake documents for flying to Moscow, they head to the Netherlands. They are unable to travel to Moscow as the people smugglers are detected. The plan is changed and all the illegal immigrants have to travel to Ukraine by car, then walk across the border to the Czech Republic through snowstorms. They are able to sneak into the Netherlands and hide in a truck to enter into the United Kingdom, but the airtight space in the truck results in the deaths of 58 people, leaving only 2 survivors.

Cast

Production

Filming locations took place in Fuzhou, Vietnam, Moscow, Ukraine, and England.

References

  1. ^ "China Cracks Down on Illegal Immigration", People's Daily, 2000-08-04. Retrieved on 2008-11-10.