Buoyancy

Visceral performances by a cast of nonprofessionals ground this gripping dramatization of immigrant exploitation and wage slavery in Southeast Asia, which follows a Cambodian teen as his dreams of a better life turn into a nightmare aboard a Thai fishing boat in the South China Sea. Leaving his farm and family, young Chakra trusts his life to a people smuggler to get over the seas to Thailand, but soon realizes that his “temporary” job on a boat may never end and will certainly never pay. An archetypal boys’ own adventure on the high seas quickly turns deadly thanks to a sadistic crew in a situation where hope becomes sorrow and weakness is punished with death. Based on actual accounts of survivors of human trafficking in the Thai fishing industries, Buoyancy was Australia’s submission to the Oscars’ International Feature category.