Island of the Hungry Ghosts
Film poster
Directed byGabrielle Brady
Written byGabrielle Brady
Produced byAlexander Wadouh
Samm Haillay
Alex Kelly
Gizem Acarla
Gabrielle Brady
StarringPoh Lin Lee
CinematographyMichael Latham
Edited byKatharina Fiedler
Music byAaron Cupples
Production
company
Chromosom Film
Distributed byAutlook Filmsales
Release date
  • April 19, 2018 (2018-04-19) (Tribeca Film Festival)
Running time
98 minutes
CountriesGermany
Great Britain
Australia
LanguageEnglish

Island of the Hungry Ghosts is a hybrid documentary film by director Gabrielle Brady that explores the conflict faced by trauma therapist Poh Lin Lee, who works in the Australian Detention Centre for Asylum Seekers on Christmas Island.[1] It premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2018 where it won the Award for Best International Documentary.[2] It was shown at festivals all over the world, winning several prizes. It was also released in cinemas in the United Kingdom, Australia, North America and Germany.

Summary

Located off the coast of Indonesia, the Australian territory of Christmas Island is inhabited by migratory crabs travelling in their millions from the jungle towards the ocean, in a movement that has been provoked by the full moon for hundreds of thousands of years.

Poh Lin Lee is a “trauma therapist” who lives with her family in this seemingly idyllic paradise. Every day, she talks with the asylum seekers held indefinitely in a high-security detention centre hidden in the island’s core, attempting to support them in a situation that is as unbearable as its outcome is uncertain. As Poh Lin and her family explore the island’s beautiful yet threatening landscape, the local islanders carry out their “hungry ghost” rituals for the spirits of those who died on the island without a burial. They make offerings to appease the lost souls who are said to be wandering the jungles at night looking for home.

In the intimacy of her therapy sessions, as Poh Lin listens to the growing sense of despair of the people she counsels, she begins to feel the creeping dystopia reverberate through her own life.

Island of the Hungry Ghosts is a hybrid documentary that moves between the natural migration and the chaotic and tragic migration of the humans, which is in constant metamorphoses by the unseen decision-making structures.[3][4][5][6]

Accolades

Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
Tribeca Film Festival Best Documentary Feature Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [7]
Visions du Réel Buyens-Chagoll Award Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [8]
Independent Spirit Awards Best Documentary Feature Island of the Hungry Ghosts Nominated [9]
IDFA Amsterdam Human Rights Award Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [10]
German film prize Best Documentary Island of the Hungry Ghosts Pending [11]
Valletta Film Festival Best Documentary film Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [12]
Mumbai Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for the International Competition Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [13]
Edinburgh International Film Festival Special Mention Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [14]
Crested Butte Film Festival Best Documentary Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [15]
Adelaide Film Festival Flinders University Feature Documentary Award Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [16]
Darwin International Film Festival Best Documentary Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won
Human Rights Film Festival Zurich Mercurius Prize Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [17]
Festival des Libertés 2018 Prix SMART Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [18]
SAE ATOM Awards 2018 Best Documentary Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [19]
British Independent Film Awards Best Music Aaron Cupples Nominated [20]
FIFO Tahiti 2019 Prix spécial du Jury Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [21]
Ozflix Independent Film Awards Best Film Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [22]
Best Director Gabrielle Brady Won
Best Cinematography Michael Latham Won
Best Editing Katharina Fiedler Won
Best Sound Design Leo Dolgan Won
Best Original Soundtrack Aaron Cupples Nominated
ZagrebDox 2019 Special Mention from the Movies That Matter Jury Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won
Sole Luna Doc Film Festival 2019 Best Documentary Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [23]
Audience Prize Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won
Down Under Berlin FF Best Film Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [24]
Move it! Dresden 2019 Human Rights Award Island of the Hungry Ghosts Won [25]
Aubagne International Film Festival Best Original Soundtrack Aaron Cupples Nominated [26]

References

  1. ↑ "The film that reveals an island idyll's traumatic secret". The Guardian. January 3, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Tribeca Film Festival, Island of the Hungry Ghosts". April 19, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Island of the Hungry Ghosts - Official Website". Island of the Hungry Ghosts - Official Website.
  4. ↑ "Gabrielle Brady's 'The Island of Hungry Ghosts'". The Monthly. May 1, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Review: Migration and Trauma on Christmas Island". The New York Times. March 7, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Tribeca Review". Screen Daily. April 20, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Tribeca Awards Screening 2018".
  8. ↑ "Visions du Réel 2018".
  9. ↑ "2020 Independent Spirit Awards".
  10. ↑ "IDFA 2018 Amsterdam Human Rights Award".
  11. ↑ "German Film Prize".
  12. ↑ "Valletta Film Festival".
  13. ↑ "Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image".
  14. ↑ "Edinburgh International Film Festival".
  15. ↑ "Crested Butte Film Festival".
  16. ↑ "2018 Adelaide Film Festival".
  17. ↑ "Human Rights Film Festival Zurich".
  18. ↑ "2018 Festival des Libertés".
  19. ↑ "SAE ATOM Awards 2018".
  20. ↑ "2018 British Independent Film Awards".
  21. ↑ "FIFO Tahiti 2019".
  22. ↑ "2019 Ozflix Independent Film Awards".
  23. ↑ "The 2019 Sole Luna Doc Film Festival".
  24. ↑ "Down Under Berlin FF 2019".
  25. ↑ "Move it! Dresden 2019".
  26. ↑ "2019 Aubagne International Film Festival".
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