Island of the Hungry Ghosts

Director Gabrielle Brady provides an unprecedented look at offshore detention in her remarkable and lyrical documentary which follows the life of Poh Lin Lee, a trauma therapist on Christmas Island.

Set against the island’s lush jungle scenery, Island of the Hungry Ghosts creates a hypnotic disquietude through the contrast of three migration stories. The island’s inhabitants reverently assist the red land crab’s mass migration from jungle to shore. Malayan migrants who now make the island their home dutifully appease their ancestors so that their ‘hungry ghosts’ are not condemned to walk the island searching for a home. Meanwhile, the daily horrors endured by detainees loom large, presenting a bewildering snapshot of the effects of such treatment on the human condition.