Ghost Fleet

We often think of slaves as a thing of the past, but modern slavery is one of the fastest growing human rights problems in the world today. The global fishing industry is inflicted particularly hard. People from villages in poor countries are being tempted by job offers in bigger cities, from where they are being kidnapped and sold to companies that thrive on illeagel fishing. They are then being kept as slaves on board boats for years.

This documentary thriller follows the Thai human rights activist Patima Tungpuchayakul and her colleagues. As they try to catch the organisers of the slave trade, they receive threats from powerful enemies.

Shannon Service is a journalist and filmmaker from the U.S. She has investigated slavery in Thailand's fishing industry since 2012, and has published stories on the subjetc in The New York Times, The Guardian and BBC. Ghost Fleet is her first feature-length documentary. It premiered at the Toronto film festival in 2018 and has gone on to win several awards.