Telluride’s Film Fest & Library Present: “Trailblazing Women of Documentary Film,” Series Starts 3/4

24 Feb Telluride’s Film Fest & Library Present: “Trailblazing Women of Documentary Film,” Series Starts 3/4

The Telluride Film Festival and the Wilkinson Public Library are collaborating again. Their latest joint venture is a series titled “The Trailblazing Women of Documentary Film.” It all begins March 4, 6 p.m., with a 2018  Film Fest premiere, “GHOST FLEET.” Director/Producer Shannon Service will be on hand at the Library to introduce her doc and for a Q & A afterward.  


Also planned for the series is the following. Please mark your calendar accordingly:

April 1:  GIRLHOOD, directed by Liz Garbus
May 6:  STEP, directed by Amanda Lipitz

Coming this fall!  Part 2
October 7:  QUEEN OF VERSAILLES, directed by Lauren Greenfield
November 4:  CITIZEN FOUR, directed by Laura Poitras
December 2:  SISTERS IN LAW directed by Kim Longinotto 

And scroll down to watch the trailer for “Ghost Fleet.”

Shannon Service, director “Ghost Fleet.” Courtesy image.

In “The Trailblazing Women of Documentary Film” series, six female director take us around the world weaving diverse, nail-biting and eye-opening stories.

Shannon Service joins activists as they set off to rescue enslaved fishermen across Southeast Asia.

Liz Garbus and Amanda Lipitz celebrate the young women of Baltimore, those in juvenile detention centers and the members of a high school senior step team reaching toward a better future.

Lauren Greenfield explores the excess of American wealth, pre- and post-recession, while Laura Poitras presents an intimate portrait of an iconic whistleblower.

The Library ends the programming with Kim Longinotto’s tribute to the female lawyers taking on corruptions within the judicial system of Cameroon.

Together these camera-wielding women form a global mosaic of the 21st century and offer up an essential viewing experience. Join the your hosts, the Telluride Film Festival and the Telluride Library, to celebrate female filmmakers and their stories of courage, redemption and hope.

GHOST FLEET & Shannon Service more:

Having had its premiere at the 45th Telluride Film Festival, Shannon Service’s GHOST FLEET follows a small group of activists who risk their lives on remote Indonesian islands to find justice and freedom for the enslaved fishermen who feed the world’s insatiable appetite for seafood. Bangkok-based Patima Tungpuchayakul, a Thai abolitionist, has committed her life to helping these “lost” men return home. Facing illness, death threats, corruption, and complacency, Patima’s fearless determination for justice inspires her nation and the world.

Director/Producer Shannon Service is an independent reporter and filmmaker whose work has appeared in The New York Times, the BBC and The Guardian of London. She primarily focuses on crimes at sea, but her stories covered topics from the ravages of war to the intimacies of heartbreak.

In 2012, Service worked with Becky Palmstrom to break the story of slavery on Thai fishing boats for NPR’s Morning Edition.

Service has won several reporting awards, including an Edward R. Murrow.