Island of the Hungry Ghosts
# Island of the Hungry Ghosts

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. It premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2018 where it won the Award for Best International Documentary. 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.

## Accolades

| Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| - | - | - | - |
| Tribeca Film Festival | Best Documentary Feature | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| Visions du Réel | Buyens-Chagoll Award | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| Independent Spirit Awards | Best Documentary Feature | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Nominated |
| IDFA | Amsterdam Human Rights Award | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| German film prize | Best Documentary | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Pending |
| Valletta Film Festival | Best Documentary film | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| Mumbai Film Festival | Grand Jury Prize for the International Competition | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| Edinburgh International Film Festival | Special Mention | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| Crested Butte Film Festival | Best Documentary | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| Adelaide Film Festival | Flinders University Feature Documentary Award | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| 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 |
| Festival des Libertés 2018 | Prix SMART | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| SAE ATOM Awards 2018 | Best Documentary | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| British Independent Film Awards | Best Music | Aaron Cupples | Nominated |
| FIFO Tahiti 2019 | Prix spécial du Jury | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| Ozflix Independent Film Awards | Best Film | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| Ozflix Independent Film Awards | Best Director | Gabrielle Brady | Won |
| Ozflix Independent Film Awards | Best Cinematography | Michael Latham | Won |
| Ozflix Independent Film Awards | Best Editing | Katharina Fiedler | Won |
| Ozflix Independent Film Awards | Best Sound Design | Leo Dolgan | Won |
| Ozflix Independent Film Awards | 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 |
| Sole Luna Doc Film Festival 2019 | Audience Prize | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| Down Under Berlin FF | Best Film | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| Move it! Dresden 2019 | Human Rights Award | Island of the Hungry Ghosts | Won |
| Aubagne International Film Festival | Best Original Soundtrack | Aaron Cupples | Nominated |
