NFB Collection
Shipbreakers
20041 h 12 min 48 secFilm: Documentary
Direction: Michael Kot
Production: Ed Barreveld (Storyline Entertainment Inc.)Michael KotPeter Starr (National Film Board of Canada)Silva BasmajianSylvia SweeneyMichael AllderCindy Witten
Script: Jennifer Baichwal
Produced by Storyline Entertainment Inc. in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - The Nature of Things and the National Geographic Channel International, with the support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund, Knowledge Network, National Geographic Channel (Canada) and Rogers Documentary Fund.
As visually mesmerizing as it is compelling, Shipbreakers takes the viewer into the heart of Alang, India, a vibrant shantytown where 40,000 people live and work in the most primitive conditions.
Since the early '80s, the rusting hulks of thousands of the world's largest ships have been driven onto the remote beaches of Alang, off the Arabian Sea, to be dismantled, piece by piece. Sold for scrap, the ship owners rarely bother to abide by the UN Basel Convention, which bans shipments of transboundary waste. One worker a day, on average, dies on the job, some from explosions or falls, but many will contract cancers caused by asbestos, PCBs and other toxic substances.
Shipbreakers vividly captures both the haunting beauty of the ships and the deplorable conditions of the workers--in an unforgettable portrayal where Third World ingenuity meets 21st century global economics.
Subject categories
- Transportation > Boating and Shipping
- Environment and Conservation > Developing CountriesOceans, Seas and EstuariesPollution
- Developing Countries > Economic and Industrial DevelopmentEnvironment and ConservationIndia, Nepal and PakistanWorking Life
- Work and Labour Relations > Working Conditions
- Social Studies > Communities in Canada/WorldEnvironmental ChallengesLabour Studies
- Technology Education > Environment and Technology
- Geography > Environmental IssuesHuman Geography
Credits
- director
- Michael Kot
- producer
- Ed Barreveld
- Michael Kot
- Peter Starr
- editor
- Deborah Palloway
- director of photography
- Derek Rogers
- associate producer
- Ted Biggs
- music composer
- Ken Myhr
- location sound
- John Martin
- narrator
- Ted Biggs
- voice
- Santosh Mishra
- story editor
- Jennifer Baichwal
- narration writer
- Shelley Saywell
- line producer
- Ed Barreveld
- Douglas MacFarlane
- production consultant
- Jose Thomas
- production manager
- Pradip Acharya
- additional photography
- Nick de Pencier
- Michael Kot
- Subrato Sengupta
- Peter Starr
- steadicam operator
- Deep Pal
- additional sound
- Hari Kumar
- Marten Negenman
- Adrian Tucker
- camera assistant
- Subhasish Dam
- Kishan Rajput
- Yardley Pal
- crane crew
- Ganesh Nadar
- Sk Nazeer
- K. Rajendra
- Santos Rajput
- Razadera
- Saleem
- location manager
- Richard Smoorenburg
- research
- Ted Biggs
- Tom Hastings
- assistant editor
- Brian Katugampola
- Ryan Noth
- Timothy Pocius
- dialogue editor
- Geoff Raffan
- sound effects editor
- Brian Shwartz
- assistant sound
- Steven Budd
- sound design editor
- James Mark Stewart
- studio assistant
- Rob Hutchins
- re-recording mixer
- Daniel Pellerin
- Dwayne Newman
- supervising sound designer
- Daniel Pellerin
- narration recording
- Stephen Traub
- musician
- Kiran Ahluwalia
- Narendra Datar
- Ernie Tollar
- post-production on-line
- John Dowding
- production administration
- Sarah Christie
- publicity
- Ingrid Hamilton
- Micol Marotti
- David Miller
- production accountant
- Anne Sinclair
- production auditor
- Steven Friedman
- insurance
- Steve Beatty
- legal services
- Jerry Banks
- Michael Levine
- Tara Leigh Parker
- executive producer
- Silva Basmajian
- Sylvia Sweeney
- Michael Allder
- Cindy Witten
- transcription
- Debbie Innes
- Tricia Lee
- Nick Mavadia
- Santosh Mishra
- Vipin Sharma
- translation
- Debbie Innes
- Tricia Lee
- Nick Mavadia
- Santosh Mishra
- Vipin Sharma
- creator
- Ed Barreveld
- Ted Biggs
- Michael Kot
- production supervisor
- Kemp Archibald
- marketing coordinator
- Donna Cowan
- production coordinator
- Catherine Fletcher
- Anousheh Showleh
- marketing manager
- Sue Mander
- co-production coordinator
- Elissa McBride
- technical coordinator
- Mark Wilson
Awards
- Golden Sheaf Award - Category: Best Director non fictionYorkton Film Festival
- Golden Sheaf Award - Category: Best Nature / Environment DocumentaryYorkton Film Festival
- Gemini Award for Best Photography in a Documentary Program or Series (Derek Rogers)Gemini Awards
- First Prize - Golden Deer Award - with a cash prize of 7,000€ (approx 10,300$Cdn)Ecofilms Festival