ANCLAS invites you to join the Ambassador of Uruguay, HE Dianela Pi, the Chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Group Australia-Uruguay, Ms Maria Vamvakinou MP, and ANU School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics to the screening of the documentary 'Greg Mortimer: En busca de una tierra solidaria'. Directed by Uruguayan filmmaker Federico Lemos, the documentary retells the journey of the Australian cruise ship 'Greg Mortimer' to Antarctica at the opening stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

COVID-19 was already present on board the vessel and the virus spread rapidly among passengers and crew. But with borders closed, as nations in the region responded to the pandemic, the passengers and crew realised that they were all alone, far at sea with insufficient medical facilities to handle Covid. The situation looked very grim until the Uruguayan authorities were contacted and launched an operation to repatriate the passengers and provide assistance to the vessel. The documentary is a testament to the empathy and caring ethos of Uruguay that mitigated the consequences of what was by any measure a humanitarian nightmare.