VESSEL

Director: Diana Whitten
Producers: Diana Whitten & Mitchell Block

2014 | 88 min
USA | Netherlands
Language: English

Rebecca Gomperts sails a ship around the world, providing abortions at sea for women with no legal alternative. Her idea begins as flawed spectacle, faced with governmental, religious, and military blockade. But with each setback comes a refined mission, until Rebecca realizes she can use technology to bypass law – and train women to give themselves abortions using WHO-researched pills. From there she creates an underground network of emboldened activists who trust women to handle abortion themselves. Vessel is Rebecca’s story: of a woman who hears and answers a calling, and transforms a wildly improbable idea into a global movement.

*Only Available to SIMA Network Partners

FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Jury Prize: Lens to Action, SIMA 2015
Honorable Mention, Moving Mountains Award, Mountainfilm in Telluride 2014
Adrienne Shelly Award, Nantucket Film Festival 2014
Peter Wintonick Award, Sheffield DocFest 2014
Audience Award, SXSW Film Festival 2014
Special Jury Recognition for Political Courage, SXSW Film Festival 2014