This film is part of Rentals
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_480x270/public/hero-images/island-of-hungry-ghosts-1.jpg?itok=2LyuSFZI)
Island of the Hungry Ghosts
A therapist helps traumatised refugees detained on a remote island where powerful natural and tribal rituals prevail, in this extraordinary mix of fact and fiction.
Director: Gabrielle Brady
Overview
Poh Lin is a trauma counsellor living on the remote Christmas Island with her young family. Poh Lin’s job is to work with people trying to seek asylum to Australia who have been detained in a high security detention facility, deep within the island's jungle. The island is one of the last discovered places on earth, with humans having migrated to its shores less than a century ago. The original inhabitants are the forty million land crabs. Pulled by the force of the full moon they begin their epic odyssey from the island’s jungle to its rugged coastline.
As Poh Lin and her family explore the island’s powerful and threatening landscape, a disquieting sensation grows. Local islanders carry out their ‘hungry ghost’ rituals for the spirits of those who died on the island without a proper burial. They make offerings to appease the lost souls, who are said to be wandering the jungles at night without a home. In the intimacy of her therapy sessions, Poh Lin feels the oncoming dystopia, as the mental state of her clients begin to unravel.
Related
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/wilding-02.jpg?itok=AmImzKtl)
Wilding Wilding
Documentary 2023 75 mins Director: David Allen
A dying landscape is healed against all odds, going on to thrive in astonishing ways, in this hopeful story of ecological regeneration.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Made-in-England-01.jpg?itok=riPux3e9)
Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger
Documentary 2024 133 mins Director: David Hinton
Martin Scorsese presents a highly personal tribute to the work and influence of Powell and Pressburger.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Copa71_05.jpg?itok=3-YzF6Yh)
Copa 71 Copa 71
Documentary 2023 90 mins Director: Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine
Buried for 50 years, this is the untold story of the 1971 Women’s World Cup – a tremendous, televised rollercoaster ride and a historic moment in football.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Fantastic-Machine-01.jpg?itok=Qw_L2KZe)
Fantastic Machine Fantastic Machine
Documentary 2023 88 mins Director: Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck
Ambitious documentary chronicling humankind’s relationship with the camera and its social consequences.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/ryuichi-sakamoto-opus-02.jpg?itok=qLrMo0Ef)
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus
Documentary 2023 103 mins Director: Neo Sora
This moving tribute to the late composer and musician speaks volumes about his enormous talent, pioneering work and dedication to his craft.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Red-Herring-01.jpg?itok=NN-73cAJ)
Red Herring Red Herring
Documentary 2023 94 mins Director: Kitson Vincent
Following his terminal diagnosis, young filmmaker Kit Vincent sets out to document an intimate and darkly humorous journey in this BIFA nominated documentary.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Appropriate_Behaviour_1920x1080.jpg?itok=eMWxQnLg)
Appropriate Behaviour Appropriate Behaviour
Comedy 2015 86 mins Director: Desiree Akhavan
Desiree Akhavan directs and stars in this witty, razor-sharp and fearless comedy following the sexual misadventures of a bisexual Brooklynite.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/a88041e1ac5538a9b03571a6c5c71eaf_0.jpg?itok=XemNntzi)
Daughters of the Dust Daughters of the Dust
Drama 1991 112 mins Director: Julie Dash
Julie Dash’s groundbreaking Daughters of the Dust remains urgent and poetic and continues to resonate, inspiring Beyoncé’s iconic visual album Lemonade.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/promo259924477.jpg?itok=uiDBROk3)
I'm British But... I'm British But...
Documentary 1989 29 mins Director: Gurinder Chadha
Britain beats to the sound of Bhangra and Bangla in Gurinder Chadha's debut film.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/something-different.jpg?itok=uwTBRWK8)
Something Different Something Different
Drama 1963 81 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's first feature is an important work of women's cinema, which contrasts the parallel stories of a gymnast (filmed as documentary) and a housewife (told as fiction).
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/rafiki1_0.jpg?itok=zpdLQV5y)
Rafiki Rafiki
Drama 2018 83 mins Director: Wanuri Kahiu
Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians in Wanuri Kahiu’s neon-bright story of forbidden love in Kenya.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/my-20th-century.jpg?itok=nxWqV3yR)
My 20th Century My 20th Century
Drama 1989 99 mins Director: Ildikó Enyedi
Ildikó Enyedi's magical tale of twin girls born in Budapest at the very moment that Edison’s wondrous electric light-bulb is unveiled to the world.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Green-Border-01.jpg?itok=-YVcr1Za)
Green Border Green Border
Drama 2023 152 mins
Three-time Oscar-nominee Agnieszka Holland returns with a powerful, timely and unflinching exploration of the current migrant crisis.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Our-River-our-sky-01.jpg?itok=p9xO8tL8)
Our River... Our Sky Our River... Our Sky
War 2021 118 mins Director: Maysoon Pachachi
A small Baghdad community searches for hope in the face of unpredictable violence, turmoil, and loss.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/LoveLiesBleeding-01_brighter.jpg?itok=Ji_gwS-r)
Love Lies Bleeding Love Lies Bleeding
Romance 2023 104 mins Director: Rose Glass
Rose Glass’s gripping and gory follow-up to Saint Maud finds a lesbian couple drawn into a web of violence in 1980s small-town New Mexico.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/sick-of-myself-01.jpeg?itok=6WYKe_5g)
Sick of Myself Sick of Myself
Comedy 2022 97 mins Director: Kristoffer Borgli
She just did what! Attention-seeking Signe will do anything to keep the focus on herself, in this wildly demented comedy.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/wilding-02.jpg?itok=AmImzKtl)
Wilding Wilding
Documentary 2023 75 mins Director: David Allen
A dying landscape is healed against all odds, going on to thrive in astonishing ways, in this hopeful story of ecological regeneration.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/AHouseInJerusalem-01.jpg?itok=9SyTSTlz)
A House in Jerusalem A House in Jerusalem
Drama 2022 104 mins Director: Muayad Alayan
After moving from the UK to Jerusalem, young Rebecca strikes up a mysterious and an unlikely friendship, in this poignant tale of loss and longing.