15 May, 2008
This year at the 61st Cannes Film Festival 2008, Penn, as President of the Cannes Jury, will be presenting such a project that he hopes every person will view. In an unprecedented Special Presidential Jury Screening hosted by Penn, THE THIRD WAVE a film directed by Alison Thompson, will have its international premiere at Cannes. Chronicling the journey of four volunteers from around the world who came together after the 2004 Asian tsunami disaster and raced off to Sri Lanka to help, the film provides an insight to volunteerism and what really happens on the ground after a disaster.
“THE THIRD WAVE is truly a must-see for ourselves, our children and everyone we know, for anyone who has two good legs and a dollar in their pocket,” states Penn. “It inspires the very best in us, just when we need that most. It comes as close to answering our purpose in life as any film in recent memory.”
Directed by Alison Thompson and produced by Oscar Gubernati, THE THIRD WAVE captures the volunteers efforts in helping the already poverty strickened Sri Lanka in the midst of utter turmoil. They rented a van, filled it with supplies, and drove along the coast, stumbling onto Peraliya, a tribal village that was totally devastated by a 40-foot tsunami wave, leaving more than 2500 people dead.
The volunteers set up a first aid station and quickly find themselves in charge of a refugee camp caring for over three thousand people. What was originally a two-week journey spirals into a year long odyssey of hope, heartbreak and set backs as the villagers slowly begin to rise up against them when the worlds donated tsunami money never materializes. The volunteers break every rule in the Disaster Aid books and out of the rubble an entire village is re-born.
“Our hope through the film is to encourage and inspire people to give a little back to the world,” comments filmmaker Thompson. “To volunteer even for just an hour, whether it is helping inner city kids or the elderly lady living next door or even with an environmental issue. As people, we have the power to impact and influence positive change.
” Executive Produced by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock and Joe Amodei, President of Arts Alliance America, THE THIRD WAVE is a roadmap for volunteering. It chronicles that in a world of increased natural and manmade disaster, everyone is needed. No experience required.
“The film came to Morgan and I earlier this year, and we were both blown away,” states Amodei. “Even though it was not a finished project and needed funding to complete, I knew that Arts Alliance America had to finance it so the world would experience what these volunteers went through. As a result, its message is extraordinary.”
“THE THIRD WAVE is exactly the type of film that I want to be involved with,” adds Spurlock. “It’s all about doing something for someone else and if enough people see it, I think it can really make an important difference.”
The Special Presidential Jury Screening of THE THIRD WAVE, a film directed by Alison Thompson, will take place on Friday, May 16 at 7:15 PM at the 61st Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. International sales for the film are being handled directly by ContentFilm International (Black Book, Thank You for Smoking) with Cinetic Media selling North America.
