The Human Cargo
On 8 August 1991, an Albanian ship carrying 20,000 people reached the port of Bari. The ship was called the “Vlora”. Mooring was difficult, and some of the passengers jumped overboard to swim to land, while many others chanted “Italia, Italia”, making the victory sign. On 7 August 1991, the ship, returning from Cuba, the “Vlora” had arrived at the port of Durrës with 10,000 tons of sugar in its hold. Work on unloading the sugar was underway when an enormous throng of thousands of people suddenly assailed the ship, forcing the captain to head for Italy. The next morning, waiting for the “Vlora” was an incredulous and stunned city and an empty football stadium where the Albanians were held before being sent back home. Twenty-one years have passed since that day. Most of the people who boarded that ship were sent back to Albania, but the crossings continued and many of them had another go. Today, 4.5 million foreigners live in Italy.
Where to Watch
Availability: United States
No regional provider information is available for United States.
Streaming availability data provided by JustWatch.
Top Cast
Crew
Writers
Producers
Cinematographers
More Like This
Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea
2026 · ★ 7.2
Sergio Leone: The Italian Who Invented America
2022 · ★ 7.4
Halloween: 25 Years of Terror
2006 · ★ 6.8
The Class of ‘92
2013 · ★ 7.1
Seduced and Abandoned
2013 · ★ 6.2
I Am Ali
2014 · ★ 6.7
Naqoyqatsi
2002 · ★ 6.2
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library
2017 · ★ 6.4
Sidney
2022 · ★ 6.9
Oprah Winfrey Presents: When They See Us Now
2019 · ★ 7.7
Downloaded
2013 · ★ 6.5
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye
2022 · ★ 7.2
GLOW: The Story of The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling
2012 · ★ 6.5
The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story
2019 · ★ 7.3
Powaqqatsi
1988 · ★ 7.2
OLIVIA RODRIGO: driving home 2 u (a SOUR film)
2022 · ★ 7.8
Love, Marilyn
2013 · ★ 6.5
Earth: One Amazing Day
2017 · ★ 7.7
Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present
2012 · ★ 7.3
Selfie
2019 · ★ 7.2
More from This Director
Diaz - Don't Clean Up This Blood
2012 · ★ 7.2
Before the Night
2018 · ★ 6.8
Tired of Killing
2025 · ★ 6.1
Il giorno e la notte
2021 · ★ 5.5
Maximum Velocity (V-Max)
2002 · ★ 5.8
L'Orizzonte Degli Eventi
2005 · ★ 6.1
Fela, My Living God
2024 · ★ 7.5
The Past Is a Foreign Land
2008 · ★ 6.3
Non mi basta mai
1999 · ★ 10.0
Partigiani
1997 · ★ 7.0
Sun, Heart, Love
2017 · ★ 5.9
Il mio paese
2006
Orlando
2022 · ★ 6.8