REVIEWS

“Gabrielle Brady’s ethereal, intensely moving documentary Island of the Hungry Ghosts explores, with great delicacy, the agony of living in limbo.”

New York Times

‘A fierce, valuable, compassionate film.’

( ★★★★ out of 5) Peter Bradshaw, the Guardian

“[A] poetic profile of the forgotten asylum seekers detained on Christmas Island… Lush cinematography… Timely subject matter.”

– Laurence Boyce, Screen International

“A timely reminder that a society must be judged by the way it treats the desperate and vulnerable.”

( ★★★★ out of 5) Wendy Ide, The Observer

‘A revealing, thought-provoking, stunning film”

★★★★★ THE UPCOMING

The best documentary award goes to a film that demonstrates extraordinary mastery of the full symphonic range of cinematic tools: cinematography, editing, score, sound design and, perhaps greatest of all, an exquisite use of metaphor. To a film that moved us deeply, impressed us immensely and made us feel we were witnessing nothing less than the emergence, fully formed, of a major new cinematic talent.

– Tribeca Jury

“There is a true ruminative beauty here in Brady’s impressionistic portrait of this haunted island out of time.”

– Chris Barsanti, The Playlist

“The magic of documentary filmmaking comes alive in this film… A thunderstorm of sensation… A powerful statement.”

– Briana Atkins, The Knockturnal

“Hauntingly beautiful Island of the Hungry Ghosts combines multiple narratives…into one glorious whole… Powerful cinema… A mesmerizing work of visual wonder, the breathtaking images forming an evocative setting for a vital discussion of human rights… A rapturous viewing experience… A stunning, visceral first feature, announcing the director as a major talent to watch”

– Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Festival today

“A fascinating metaphoric collision.”

– Scott Macaulay, Filmmaker Magazine.com

“Gorgeous… [A] beautifully rendered portrait of an alien landscape… Reality is suspended and in its place Brady’s surrealist dreamscape, shot breathtakingly by Michael Latham, becomes an all-encompassing tribunal on man’s inhumanity to man in a clandestine landscape filled with lost spirits.”

– Pamela Cohn, Filmmaker Magazine.com

A sad and singular documentary.

( ★★★★ out of 5) Danny Leigh, Financial Times

“ Island of the Hungry Ghosts is one of the year’s most impressively made documentaries, a film that’s as occasionally surreal as it is persistently moving. Island of the Hungry Ghosts is a true discovery.”

– Joshua Brunsting, Criterion Cast.

“[A] standout… This is a film that lingers with you long after it’s gone.” – Patricia Aufderheide, Documentary.org

( ★★★★ out of 5) – Amber Wilkinson, Eye For Film

“A documentary overflowing with empathy, poetry, and elemental power.”

– Hubert Vigilla, Flixist