From acclaimed documentary filmmaker Federico Lemos, Greg Mortimer is an intimate account of the events on board the Greg Mortimer cruise ship in 2020, which was broadcast live to the world.
The Greg Mortimer tourist cruise set off for Antarctica just as the World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 pandemic. What seemed the safest place in the world rapidly became a nightmare when the first positive case was detected. Contagion ran rampant, and the ship became stranded in the middle of the ocean as each subsequent country they approached refused to receive it, until Uruguay.
The boat reached the Uruguayan coast severely impacted by illness and anguish, with positive cases in 70% of passengers and crew, which included Australians, New Zealanders, Americans, and Europeans. Uruguay implemented an operation to repatriate passengers and provided humanitarian aid to the ship which docked in the port of Montevideo.
Featuring testimonies from the surviving passengers and crew, and those from the daring rescue operation, this is a story where empathy, solidarity and organised action were key to containing the impacts of a disaster.
"If you are passionate about [documentaries], you are interested in the right movie."
- Cine.com
Wednesday 14th June
80 min
15+
Frederico Lemos
Film Festival
Spanish and English with English subtitles
Palace Norton St
