Film phase:Completed
SYNOPSIS
Rebecca Gomperts had a wild idea: To provide abortions at sea for women with no alternative. When her ship is faced with governmental, religious, and military blockade, she decides to use new technologies to train women to give themselves abortions using WHO-researched pills; creating an underground network of emboldened, informed activists who trust women to handle abortion. Vessel is the story of a woman who hears and answers a calling, and transforms an improbable idea into a global movement.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Diana Whitten has a decade of professional film/TV direction, production, and design experience. She founded Sovereignty Productions in 2008, following a Fulbright Fellowship to Indonesia, and was the Director of Communications at Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program.
NOW PLAYING
Vessel premiered at SXSW 2014, winning the Audience Award and a Special Jury Award for Political Courage. The film went on to international premiere at Hot Docs and a 2014 festival run including screenings at Boston Independent Film Festival, Sarasota, Nantucket, Mountainfilm, Sheffield, San Francisco DocFest, and Jerusalem International.