Chosen by Sean Penn, President of the Jury at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, as his special President’s Screening, THE THIRD WAVE is a truly inspirational documentary about the tragedy of the 2004 Tsunami and the indomitability of the human spirit.
“The Third Wave is truly a must-see! – For ourselves, for our children, and everyone we know. For anyone who has two good legs and a dollar in their pocket. It inspires the very best in us, just when we need that the most, and comes as close to answering our purpose in life, more than any other film in my recent memory” – Sean Penn
When the Tsunami smashed in to the South East Asian coast in December 2004, it destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, wiped out entire villages, and left whole communities reeling from the disaster. Its shockwaves were felt around the world, and lead to an unprecedented international outpouring of grief and sympathy.
The Third Wave is the true story of four independent volunteers, for whom the devastation wrought by the power of the Tsunami was just too awful to ignore. Each of them felt motivated enough to get on the next plane to Sri Lanka to lend a hand in whatever way they could. None of them had any experience of volunteering. None of them had any specialist skills. But all of them knew that they couldn’t just sit back and watch the tragedy unfurl…
Filmmakers Alison Thompson and Oscar Guberati met their new volunteering partners at Colombo airport – Bruce French had spent his life touring the world with rock bands like Pearl Jam, working as their personal chef. Donny Paterson, a resident of New South Wales in Australia, worked as a personal sports trainer. Together, the four of them gathered medical supplies and whatever food they could find and headed off in a rented mini-van towards the coastal village of Peraliya.
None of the newspaper reports or Television news images could prepare them for what they saw on their arrival. The village was almost entirely flattened. Survivors of the flood reported seeing a 40-foot wave wash away an entire train, taking with it 2,500 lives. There was nothing there but the shock and grief of those lucky enough to have survived. Setting up camp in the village’s only surviving structure, the four volunteers began a small field hospital and set about the task of rebuilding the village. They intended to stay for two weeks. They were still there six months later…
Utilising the help of a local camera-man, Alison and her co-volunteers documented their story on film. It’s a story of courage, of humanity, of terrible loss, and of finding hope where all hope was lost. Most of all, THE THIRD WAVE is a call to arms, proof that everyone can make a difference and that there is a hero inside everyone.
