Located off the coast of Indonesia, the Australian territory of Christmas Island is inhabited by migratory crabs traveling by the millions from the jungle toward the ocean, in a movement provoked by the full moon. 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 center 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.

Island of the Hungry Ghosts

2018 AU 98 min
Festival Year: 2019
Types: Documentary, Feature
Topic: Global Perspectives