Island of the Hungry Ghosts

Synopsis

A cinematic hybrid film which tells the tragedy of Australia’s biggest offshore refugee detention centre against the backdrop of seemingly ordinary life on this remote island.
Christmas Island, home to the famous red crabs, itself is a protagonist and in its beautiful yet threatening landscape we witness past and present moments of chaotic human migrations, that play out in stark contrast to its own ancient rhythms. Through stories of the island's first human migrations and the natural phenomenon of the annual crab migration, we come to arrive at a darker side of this seemingly idyllic paradise. Hidden in the core of the jungle sits Australia’s biggest offshore refugee detention centre. It was built to not be seen, yet in this film every encounter takes us closer, every direction leads us there.
The crab migration comes to serve as an allegory for the natural movements of migration; ancient and timeless. The natural spectacle sits in stark contrast to the chaotic human movements and entrapment that are senseless and absurd.
Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2018 - Documentary Competition - World premiere
http://www.christmasislandfilm.com

Details

Year

2018

Type of film

Features

Running Time

93 mins

Format

Digital

Director

Gabrielle Brady 1st Feature

Producer

Alexander Wadouh, Samm Haillay, Alex Kelly, Gizem Acarla, Gabrielle Brady

Co-Producer

Julia Niethammer

Executive Producer

Lizzie Franke, Sarah Perks

Editor

Katharina Fiedler

Screenwriter

Gabrielle Brady

Director of Photography

Michael Latham

Sound

Leo Dolgan

Music

Aaron Cupples

Principal Cast

Poh-Lin Lee

Genre

• Documentary

Production status

Complete

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Last updated 13th March 2019