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{{Italic title}}{{Infobox film
| name =When Asia Speaks
| image =Screen Shot When Asia Speaks.png
| image_size =
| caption =Title Frame
| director =[[Gordon Weisenborn]]
| producer = [[Stuart Legg]]
| writer =
| narrator =[[Lorne Greene]]
| starring =
| music = [[Lucio Agostini]]
| cinematography =
| editing =
| studio = [[National Film Board of Canada]]
| distributor = {{plainlist|
* [[United Artists]]
* National Film Board of Canada
}}
| released = {{Film date|1944|06|03}}
| runtime = 19 minutes
| country = Canada
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}

'''''When Asia Speaks''''' is a 19-minute film produced in 1944 by [[Stuart Legg]] and directed by [[Gordon Weisenborn]] for the [[National Film Board of Canada]] series ''[[The World in Action]]''. The film is narrated by broadcaster [[Lorne Greene]]. ''When Asia Speaks'' describes the disparity between the riches of Asia and the poverty of the masses during the [[World War II|Second World War]] that have led to nationalist movements in Asia. The film's [[Canadian French|French]] version title is ''Le Réveil de l'Asie''.{{TOC limit|limit=2}}

==Synopsis==
In 1944, during the Second World War, [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] forces are beginning to occupy [[Axis powers|Axis]]-occupied Asia. The vast area represents 1/2 of the world's population and unlimited natural resources.

Although the [[Empire of Japan]] in attempting to establish the [[Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere]], had ruled the occupied Asian populations with a heavy hand for years, the Japanese government and military reversed its policies in an attempt to sway cooperation. At the same time, great forces are also at work in the Indian sub-continent, [[Indo-Pacific|Indo-Asia Pacific]] and China as nationalist movements vie for self-determination.

An obstacle to ruling Asia is the wide divide between East and West. The administrators of the [[British Empire in World War II|British Empire]] on the Indian sub-continent realize that [[Mahatma Gandhi|Gandhi]] and [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Nehru]] speak for a massive disaffected populace. In China, the nationalist movement begun by visionary leader [[Sun Yat-sen]] has galvanized the occupied people in their struggle against Japan. Despite recruiting efforts to enlist the Asian population, except for isolated examples, Asians have rejected the Axis propaganda.

The great riches of the region are coveted by both the Axis and Allied powers. Although urban areas have made progress, and industries have employed millions, the impoverished people in rural areas still labour in the fields. With the end of [[World War II]] in sight, Asia looks forward to the day when they can fulfill their own hopes for a better future in a postwar world.

==Cast==
{{div col}}
* [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] as Himself (archive footage)
* [[Mahatma Gandhi]] as Himself (archive footage)
* [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] as Himself (archive footage)
* [[Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|Lord Wavell]] as Himself (archive footage)
* [[Soong Mei-ling|Madame Chiang Kai-shek]] as Herself (archive footage)
* [[Hideki Tojo]] as Himself (archive footage)
* [[Sun Yat-sen]] as Himself (archive footage)
{{div col end}}

==Production==
Typical of the NFB's wartime series of [[propaganda]] short films, ''When Asia Speaks'' was a [[compilation documentary]] that relied heavily on stock footage, including "enemy footage".<ref>Goetz, William. "The Canadian Wartime Documentary: 'Canada Carries on' and 'The World in Action'. ''Cinema Journal'', 16, 1977, pp. 59–80.</ref> {{#tag:ref|Enemy footage was provided care of the Alien Property Custodian.|group=Note}} A large proportion of the film was composed on [[newsreel]] material from the inter-war period, continuing to foster the outmoded image of "romance, glamour and intrigue" that characterized the westerner's perception of the East.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/64056888/ "When Asia Speaks, NFB Film."] ''Lethbridge Herald'', June 3, 1943, p. 14. Retrieved: April 2, 2016.</ref>

The narrator in ''When Asia Speaks'' was [[Lorne Greene]], known for his work on both radio broadcasts as a news announcer at ''[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]'' as well as narrating many of the earlier ''[[Canada Carries On]]'' and ''The World in Action'' series.<ref>Bennett 2004, p. 254.</ref> His sonorous recitation led to his nickname, "The Voice of Canada", and when reading grim battle statistics, "The Voice of Doom".<ref>[https://tkmorin.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/bonanzas-canadian-lorne-greene/ "Bonanza's Canadian Lorne Greene."] ''Bite Size Canada''. Retrieved: April 2, 2016.</ref>

==Reception==
''When Asia Speaks'' as part of the NFB's ''The World in Action'' newsreel series, was produced in 35 mm for the theatrical market. Each film was shown over a six-month period as part of the shorts or newsreel segments in approximately 800 theatres across Canada. The NFB also had an arrangement with [[United Artists]] to ensure that newsreels would get a wider release in North America.<ref name="Ellis">Ellis and McLane 2005, p. 122.</ref>

After the six-month theatrical tour ended, individual films were made available on 16 mm, to schools, libraries, churches and factories, extending the life of these films for another year or two.<ref name="Ohayon">Ohayon, Albert. [http://blog.nfb.ca/2009/07/13/propaganda-cinema/ "Propaganda cinema at the NFB".] ''National Film Board of Canada'', July 13, 2009. Retrieved: April 2, 2016.</ref> They were also made available to film libraries operated by university and provincial authorities. Available from the National Film Board either online or as a DVD.<ref>Peters, Sharon. [http://www3.nfb.ca/ressources_educatives/0028.pdf "Documentary Lens Lesson Plan for When Asia Speaks."] ''NFB.ca'', 2005. Retrieved: April 2, 2016.</ref>

Film historian Ian Aitken in ''The Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film'', described ''When Asia Speaks'' as "... so accurate and farseeing in its analysis that it was still in active non-theatrical distribution long after the war."<ref name="Aitken">Aitken 2013, p. 1017.</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Warclouds in the Pacific]]'' (1941)
* ''[[Inside Fighting China]]'' (1942)
* [[List of artistic depictions of Mahatma Gandhi]]

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* Aitken, Ian. ''The Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film''. London: Routledge, 2013. {{ISBN|978-0-4155-9642-8}}.
* Bennett, Linda Greene. ''My Father's Voice: The Biography of Lorne Greene''. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse, Inc., 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-595-33283-0}}.
* Ellis, Jack C. and Betsy A. McLane. ''New History of Documentary Film''. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. {{ISBN|0-8264-1750-7}}.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/our-collection/?idfilm=15547 ''When Asia Speaks'' at NFB Collections page]
* [http://www3.nfb.ca/objectifdocumentaire/index.php?film=&_onfplr_sel=full&mode=view&filmId=37&language=english&sort=title&formats=default&speeds=default&use_cc=no&use_dv=no Watch ''When Asia Speaks'' at NFB Documentary page]
* {{IMDb title|0367224|When Asia Speaks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:When Asia Speaks}}
[[Category:1944 films]]
[[Category:Black-and-white documentary films]]
[[Category:1944 documentary films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:National Film Board of Canada documentaries]]
[[Category:Canadian short documentary films]]
[[Category:Films produced by Stuart Legg]]
[[Category:Films scored by Lucio Agostini]]
[[Category:Documentary films about Asia]]
[[Category:The World in Action]]
[[Category:Quebec films]]
[[Category:National Film Board of Canada short films]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures short films]]
[[Category:Canadian films]]
[[Category:Canadian black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Mahatma Gandhi]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Jawaharlal Nehru]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Franklin D. Roosevelt]]

Moving Image:When Asia Speaks - Revision history

JJR: 1 revision imported: fingers crossed

w>Randy Kryn: added Category:Cultural depictions of Franklin D. Roosevelt using HotCat