To the silver screen

Out of both trips came the outlines of a film. Retelas is now in the early stages of development of The Torch Dragon, a coming-of-age war drama that imagines the Doolittle Raid from the perspective of the people on the ground.

The film tells the story of four village children who discover a wounded US pilot who parachuted into their lives in war-torn China in 1942. They believe him to be the mythical Torch Dragon, a protector sent to shield them from invading Japanese forces. Retelas has completed a first draft and plans to return to China later this year to meet with studios interested in backing the project.

It is his first feature-length live-action film, and was inspired by his initial visit to China.

"That first cultural exchange in China involving the Doolittle Raid was very meaningful for me, because knowing my grandfather helped with that mission and where it led — it's like opening a door to another part of history," he said.

He is also assembling footage from his December trip into a You-Tube documentary for a US audience. The film draws on the interviews he conducted with descendants of the Chinese families who sheltered the airmen.

Cultural ties

Retelas serves as director of media marketing at Menlo College in Silicon Valley, and the work he has done in China has rippled back to his campus life.

Menlo's international student body includes a large number of students from China — the second most represented international country on campus, with students from abroad making up nearly a quarter of enrollment.

On his first China trip, he brought along Menlo College student Mathias Durfee, a marketing major who participated through an internship with the USS Hornet Museum and documented the visit through photography and video.

"Being part of this cultural exchange was an incredible experience," Durfee said. "It allowed me to apply what I've learned at Menlo in a real-world, international setting while documenting history that still resonates today."

During his December trip, Retelas connected with Chinese students at Menlo College who were home for the holidays. Zhou Yanxi, an AI and analytics major, was among them. "I am extremely grateful there are people at Menlo College, like Mr Retelas, who take the initiative to learn about my home country and its culture," Zhou said.

Retelas said such exchanges have helped inform his engagement with the students. "I love working with young people and mentoring them, but the Chinese students particularly always tend to be a little bit more reserved and kind of shy," he said. "But once they knew I went to China, they're so warm and opening up."

He is also mentoring a group of high school students who are writing a book about the Doolittle Raid. "I am very excited to help the young people of the US and China know about this story," he said.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com