In 2013, journalist Marney Blom, stumbled across a bundle of tiny, faded, handwritten notes in her deceased father’s estate in Toronto. Instantly, she knew she held in her hands an extraordinary story dating back to World War II, written by her late grandfather Menno Giliam, a Dutch mission school headmaster conscripted to fight the Japanese. Penciled in secret and at great risk to his life, these forbidden letters re-live a treacherous period of history and a personal story of outsmarting the Japanese to survive when 100,000 prisoners lost their lives.
The film captures a pivotal moment in Menno’s life when he finds himself deep in the heart of enemy territory and no longer able to hide his forbidden letters. They are, however, all he has left of his wife and seven children whom he hasn’t seen in three years. He must find a way to save the letters, but getting caught could cost him his life.
Shadow of the Sun is about being empowered by faith, daring to trust and having the grit to defy the odds. It is based on Marney Blom’s historical novel entitled, Shadow of the Sun, published by Toviyahu Publishing (2020) and in The Netherlands by Gideon Boeken (2025).
A seasoned writer, reporter, director and producer of TV, film and print, for more than three decades Marney Blom has cultivated her signature ability to draw her audience into the life and drama of the story. Her first-hand reporting of conflict — Rwanda (1999), Bosnia (1999) and the MidEast (2006 – 2019) – has uniquely qualified her to depict the life of characters engulfed by war.
Marney’s work has appeared on numerous TV programs and broadcasters including: Context: Beyond the Headlines, Vision TV, CBN News, Christian World News, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), Crossroads CCI and Evangelische Omroep (EO). Marney wrote, directed and produced the documentary films, From the River to the Ends of the Earth and Between Heaven and Earth.