THE THIRD WAVE - Festival de Cannes
THE THIRD WAVE - Festival de Cannes
THE THIRD WAVE - Festival de Cannes
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<strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong><br />
A Film Directed by Alison Thompson<br />
and Produced by Oscar Gubernati<br />
Executive Produced by Morgan Spurlock and Joe Amo<strong>de</strong>i<br />
Press Contact:<br />
Sales Agent:<br />
David Magdael & Associates, Inc.<br />
Cinetic Media<br />
Los Angeles, CA<br />
New York, NY<br />
Winston Emano John Sloss<br />
David Magdael Dana O’Keefe<br />
(213) 624 7827<br />
(212) 627 9898<br />
wemano@tcdm-associates.com<br />
john@slosslaw.com<br />
dmagdael@tcdm-associates.com<br />
dana@cineticmedia.com<br />
Thethirdwavemovie.com
Short Synopsis<br />
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong><br />
How do we cross that line from writing donations checks to<br />
actually volunteering?<br />
After the 2004 Asian tsunami disaster, four in<strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nt volunteers<br />
of divergent backgrounds, race off to Sri Lanka to see if they can<br />
help. With little money or experience they arrive in the main<br />
city, meet each other by fate, rent a van and drive off along the<br />
coast. They stumble into Peraliya, a tribal village which has been<br />
totally <strong>de</strong>vastated by a 40 foot tsunami wave, leaving more than<br />
2500 people <strong>de</strong>ad.<br />
The volunteers set up a first aid station and quickly find<br />
themselves in charge of a refugee camp caring for over three<br />
thousand people. What was originally a two-week journey spirals<br />
into a year-long odyssey of hope, heartbreak and setbacks as the<br />
villagers slowly begin to rise up against them when the worlds’<br />
donated tsunami money never materializes. The volunteers break<br />
every rule in the ‘Disaster Aid books’ and out of the rubble an<br />
entire village is re-born.<br />
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong> is a roadmap for volunteering: it chronicles that<br />
in a world of increased natural and manma<strong>de</strong> disaster, Everyone is<br />
nee<strong>de</strong>d. No experience required.
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong><br />
DIRECTOR’S NOTES<br />
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong> came about in an odd way backing up to the Sept 11 th<br />
disaster where I worked as a volunteer for 9 months. After that<br />
experience my life was changed forever and I had a <strong>de</strong>ep <strong>de</strong>sire to<br />
volunteer again.<br />
In Dec 2004, after watching the tsunami disaster unravel on<br />
television, I knew I had to go and help. I have a background in<br />
nursing and third world countries and felt that I could do<br />
something. My boyfriend Oscar Gubernati was also moved and we<br />
packed up and flew directly to the other si<strong>de</strong> of the world to Sri<br />
Lanka.<br />
We gathered medical supplies, tents, sleeping bags, food etc. and<br />
also took along a small vi<strong>de</strong>o camera to document shots of the<br />
<strong>de</strong>struction and maybe hold a fundraiser for them a few weeks later<br />
on our return. When we arrived in Sri Lanka, ten days after the<br />
tsunami, the <strong>de</strong>vastation was so massive that there was no-one<br />
helping and no one really knew what to do.<br />
We met two other volunteers, Bruce and Donny at the airport and we<br />
rented a van, filled it with food and water and started driving<br />
down the coast, assisting people along the way.<br />
We stumbled into Peraliya, a tribal village where a train had been<br />
washed away by a<br />
40 foot wave killing more than 2500 people. The entire village had<br />
been <strong>de</strong>stroyed so we set up a first aid van in the only remaining<br />
structure left (which was the school-yard) and began helping<br />
people. What started out as a two-week journey turned into one<br />
long year, as we found ourselves in charge of a field hospital and<br />
refugee camp.<br />
We were so busy re-building the village that we didn’t have a lot<br />
of time to shoot footage. But in the back of my mind I knew it<br />
was important to keep filming, so we passed the camera around to<br />
ambulance drivers, kids or anyone else who wanted to have a go at<br />
filming and documenting the experience.<br />
At the end of the second month we met a local camera man named<br />
Sunil who said he would film for us so we just kept on running the<br />
refugee camp. We returned to New York 14 months later with over<br />
250 hours of footage that we now had to edit down into 88 minutes.<br />
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong> explores the complexities and joys of volunteering.<br />
It follows the first six months of our journey and leaves behind a<br />
roadmap for future volunteers. The title makes reference to the<br />
<strong>de</strong>struction and, ultimately, mankind’s response to it. The tsunami
came in two waves: The first wave <strong>de</strong>stroyed everything; the second<br />
killed more than a quarter of a million people and the third wave<br />
refers to the flood of volunteers that poured into Sri Lanka to<br />
help.<br />
Even if we had never ma<strong>de</strong> this film, the camera became great<br />
therapy for our team, and filming kept us from going insane. Every<br />
night we would speak into the camera and let our feelings out and<br />
the next day we would be able to move on.<br />
- Alison Thompson, director.
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong><br />
FILMMAKERS’ STATEMENT<br />
In a world of growing natural and man-ma<strong>de</strong> disasters, everyone is<br />
nee<strong>de</strong>d. September 11th, Katrina, Pakistan, the Tsunami, Darfur –<br />
soon, we will have a tragedy for every date in the calendar. And<br />
with every new disaster that comes upon us, the old one fa<strong>de</strong>s away<br />
far before the recovery does.<br />
As political animals, we have the intelligence and power to do so<br />
much. We can fly to the moon and unravel relativity theories and<br />
DNA co<strong>de</strong>s, but the things we need to do now are a lot simpler than<br />
that. There are so many problems throughout the<br />
world including those directly in front of us.<br />
Our hope through our film, <strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong>, is to encourage and<br />
inspire people to give a little back to the world. To volunteer<br />
even for just an hour, whether it is helping inner city kids or<br />
the el<strong>de</strong>rly lady living next door or even with an environmental<br />
issue. As people, we have the power to impact and influence<br />
positive change.<br />
Governments and humanitarian organizations around the globe are<br />
experiencing enormous difficulties in providing humanitarian<br />
assistance to affected areas. Too often by the time a recovery<br />
plan is in place, a bigger disaster drives the international<br />
attention and the media into the next crisis leaving many affected<br />
people behind with a cause consi<strong>de</strong>red no longer fashionable.<br />
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong> is a documentation of our experience volunteering<br />
and assisting the tsunami victims in Sri Lanka. This film<br />
un<strong>de</strong>rlines the difficulties and joys of volunteering and its<br />
message could be set in any disaster or situation. The main theme<br />
being volunteerism. We do not intend to point fingers at anyone,<br />
but instead share our experience and hope to motivate people to<br />
search further for their own active role as a volunteer.<br />
It was our goal to have <strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong> provi<strong>de</strong> a genuine insi<strong>de</strong><br />
glimpse into what is really happening on the ground after a<br />
disaster. We inter-cut this reality together with what was being<br />
presented on the news reports around the world. The volunteers may<br />
make many mistakes, but the important thing was that they tried<br />
and that they were there to lend a hand and help make a<br />
difference.<br />
As filmmakers and volunteers, it was important to address the fact<br />
that the process of helping people is often a complicated task but<br />
at the same time, anybody can do it with no experience is
equired. Through common sense and the wish to help others we hope<br />
to encourage people to reach insi<strong>de</strong> to pull out ‘the best in<br />
themselves.’<br />
There is a hero in everyone.<br />
-Alison Thompson and Oscar Gubernati.
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong><br />
Cast and Crew Bios<br />
Bruce French - Volunteer<br />
A resi<strong>de</strong>nt of Colorado’s western slope outsi<strong>de</strong> Telluri<strong>de</strong>, Bruce<br />
works professionally as a personal chef to popular rock bands on<br />
world tour. When not on the road, the avid outdoorsman enjoys<br />
climbing, mountaineering and Kayaking near his yurt home in the<br />
San Juan Mountains.<br />
While sailing around the world in the mid 90’s, he ma<strong>de</strong> a stopover<br />
in Sri Lanka. Exploring the island on an old motorcycle, he was<br />
moved by the island’s rich culture and raw natural beauty, but<br />
mostly by the kindness and hospitality of the locals. It was that<br />
kind hospitality that fueled his return to volunteer after the<br />
tsunami tragedy.<br />
Donald “Donny” Paterson - Volunteer<br />
A native of Bowral, NSW Australia, Donald Thomas Paterson joined<br />
the Australian Army Reserve at age 17 and then six months later,<br />
the Australian Army. He became involved in Junior Rugby League<br />
while in midst of his military career at a posting in Brisbane and<br />
has been there ever since. He found his niche in Sports Medicine<br />
and currently works as an in-<strong>de</strong>mand trainer for Newcastle area<br />
football teams and teaches popular first aid courses for the<br />
community at large.<br />
He is married to Tracey and has a son (Cory) who plays first gra<strong>de</strong><br />
rugby league for the Newcastle Knights and two daughters (Karah<br />
and Krystal).<br />
Sunil Elvitigala - Cinematographer/Co-producer<br />
Sri Lankan-born and Montreal-based Sunil Elvitigala left his<br />
native land and backpacked through the entire subcontinent, the<br />
near east and Europe and eventually to Canada where he is a<br />
citizen.<br />
While working several odd jobs, he studied at Dawson School of<br />
Photography and, seeking to make a film about backpacking stories,<br />
enrolled at In<strong>de</strong>r<strong>de</strong>ck College of film.<br />
When the Tsunami hit his motherland, he felt compelled to return<br />
to document the tragedy. Starting in the capitol of Colombo, he<br />
ventured down the west coast and en<strong>de</strong>d up in Hikkaduwa, one of the<br />
worst hit areas. While filming, he met Alison Thompson who was<br />
already making a film. She asked for his help. <strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong> is<br />
the result.
He continues to document various stories and plans to make a<br />
Documentary about a brave teenage boy who is in a need of<br />
continual medical attention after a tragic acci<strong>de</strong>nt.
Alison Thompson - Director<br />
Alison Thompson was born in the outskirts of Sydney in the<br />
Australian bush. Raised a preacher's daughter, she has lived and<br />
shot in over 30 countries. A former medic and mathematics teacher,<br />
Alison moved to New York and enrolled at NYU film school. Three<br />
weeks out of film school she Directed and Exec. Produced her first<br />
Feature Comedy called High Times’ Potluck which won nine film<br />
festival awards Including ‘Best Directorial Debut’ and ‘Best<br />
Screenplay’ written by ‘Summer of Sam’ writer Victor Collichio.<br />
High Times’ Potluck was released theatrically in the U.S.A and<br />
Canada in 2003.<br />
On September 11, 2001 Alison, rollerbla<strong>de</strong>d to the World Tra<strong>de</strong><br />
Center with her medical kit and became a first respon<strong>de</strong>r rescue<br />
worker. For nine months, she stayed on and worked as a volunteer<br />
at Ground Zero where Her 'Potluck' film Investor and many of her<br />
friends were among those killed in the WTC attacks.<br />
That experience changed her life as a volunteer and also the<br />
direction of her filmmaking, with a focus now on stories with more<br />
meaningful messages to the world.<br />
She is the Creator and Foun<strong>de</strong>r of the first Tsunami Early-warning<br />
Center in Sri Lanka called CTEC. The Tsunami Center is still the<br />
only one in Sri Lanka today.<br />
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong> is her second feature film.<br />
Oscar Gubernati - Producer<br />
Oscar Gubernati was born and raised in Palermo, Italy and moved to<br />
Los Angeles in 1990 to attend film studies at UCLA. After his<br />
graduation he became the Executive Vice Presi<strong>de</strong>nt of Stone Canyon<br />
Entertainment, a production company based at MGM studios in Los<br />
Angeles. He has worked as an in<strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nt feature producer<br />
including: Tecknolust; Golf Punks; I Woke up Early the Day I Died;<br />
Woundings; South of Heaven West of Hell; and Welcome to Hollywood.<br />
In 2002 Oscar moved to NYC to establish Ozone Pictures Inc., a<br />
production company specializing in Film Financing and<br />
International Co-productions. He also served as Co-Executive<br />
Director of IHAF International Humanitarian Artist Foundation, a<br />
charitable organization whom awar<strong>de</strong>d artists for their<br />
humanitarian efforts. He is the foun<strong>de</strong>r of Football Without<br />
Boundaries, an organization with the focus of promoting Peace<br />
through Sports. In 2005 Oscar successfully negotiated and<br />
organized a football/soccer match between two ethnicities who have<br />
been at civil war for 40 years, the Sinhalese Vs. the Tamil Tigers<br />
in Sri Lanka. <strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong> is his first documentary.
Mario Grigorov - Composer<br />
Son of a concert pianist and trumpeter, Mario began his western<br />
classical training at the Sophia Conservatorium at the age of<br />
five. his family relocated to Teheran, Iran where his father<br />
performed in the Shah's symphony orchestra. For the next six years<br />
Grigorov continued his training in western classical music while<br />
absorbing the rich sounds of the Persian culture around him.<br />
While playing the keyboard in a music store in Los Angeles, He was<br />
signed on the spot to a record <strong>de</strong>al by Warner Brothers Records' A<br />
& R executive Bob James. The Warner signing led to the release of<br />
“Rhymes with Orange” and the number four Billboard Magazine<br />
charter “Aria.” Prior to Los Angeles, Grigorov also began his<br />
exploration of classical music through the medium of film scores<br />
in Australia where he would do the original scoring for over<br />
thirty films including. He went on to score Edge City, The Life<br />
Jacket is Un<strong>de</strong>r Your Seat, Razor's Edge, Here, 29 Palms and<br />
Shadowboxer.<br />
Jaron Lanier - Composer<br />
Lanier has been active in the world of new "classical" music since<br />
the late seventies. He is a pianist and a specialist in unusual<br />
musical instruments, especially the wind and string instruments of<br />
Asia. He maintains one of the largest and most varied collections<br />
of actively played rare instruments in the world and has performed<br />
with artists as diverse as Philip Glass, Ornette Coleman, George<br />
Clinton, Vernon Reid, Terry Riley, Duncan Sheik, Pauline Oliveros<br />
and Stanley Jordan. Current recording projects inclu<strong>de</strong> his<br />
"acoustic techno" duet with Sean Lennon and an album of duets with<br />
flautist Robert Dick.<br />
Lanier's work with Asian instruments can be heard extensively on<br />
the soundtrack to Three Seasons (1999), which was the first film<br />
ever to win both the Audience and Grand Jury awards at the<br />
Sundance Film <strong>Festival</strong>. A pioneer in the use of Virtual Reality in<br />
musical stage performance with his band Chromatophoria, he has<br />
toured around the world as a headline act in venues such as the<br />
Montreux Jazz <strong>Festival</strong>.<br />
Morgan Spurlock - Executive Producer<br />
Morgan Spurlock is the writer/producer/director of the Aca<strong>de</strong>my<br />
Award nominated film Super Size Me. The feature length<br />
documentary film, Spurlock’s first, was named to more than 35 “Top<br />
Ten” lists in 2004 and is currently the 8th highest-grossing<br />
documentary of all time. The film was also awar<strong>de</strong>d the inaugural<br />
Writers Guild of America Documentary Screenplay Award, and the<br />
Best Director Prizes at the Sundance and Edinburgh Film
<strong>Festival</strong>s. Recently, it was listed in the Top 25 Best Documentary<br />
Films of All Time by the International Documentary Association.<br />
In 2006, Spurlock’s New York based production company, Warrior<br />
Poets, was named to Reel Screen Magazine’s Global 100 – which<br />
listed the top 100 producers of non-fiction entertainment in the<br />
world.<br />
Also in 2006, Spurlock and Arts Alliance America created a film<br />
and distribution partnership to releases films consi<strong>de</strong>red to be<br />
groundbreaking and important that were overlooked by the majority<br />
of filmgoers. Their first film, an In<strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nt Spirit Award<br />
nominee, Chalk, premiered theatrically in the summer of 2007 and<br />
was followed by the Confessions of a Superhero (2007), Czech<br />
Dream (2007), The Third Wave (2008) and What Would Jesus<br />
Buy? (2008).<br />
Spurlock’s latest directorial project, a feature length<br />
documentary film that examines the state of world events,<br />
titled Where in the World is Osama bin La<strong>de</strong>n? premiered at the<br />
2008 Sundance Film <strong>Festival</strong> in Park City, Utah. This film was<br />
released internationally in the Spring of 2008. “30 Days,”<br />
Spurlock’s critically acclaimed series that examines social issues<br />
in America by immersing individuals in a life that requires them<br />
to “see the world through another’s eyes,” premieres June 3, 2008<br />
on F/X.<br />
Joe Amo<strong>de</strong>i - Executive Producer<br />
As Presi<strong>de</strong>nt of Arts Alliance America, Amo<strong>de</strong>i has created a fullservice<br />
home entertainment company that <strong>de</strong>velops, acquires,<br />
markets and distributes feature film product in the narrative,<br />
documentary, special interest and sports categories. Formerly Hart<br />
Sharp Vi<strong>de</strong>o, Arts Alliance America has successfully built<br />
partnerships with E! Entertainment Television, Sundance Channel<br />
Home Entertainment, ESPN, MLB Productions, Bombo Sports and<br />
Entertainment, NESN, Tribeca Films and other high profile<br />
entertainment brands since their inception.<br />
Amo<strong>de</strong>i raised eyebrows throughout the industry with the vi<strong>de</strong>o<br />
acquisition of Morgan Spurlock’s hit documentary Super Size Me.<br />
This release forged a partnership between Spurlock and Amo<strong>de</strong>i that<br />
brought a line of documentaries to the market un<strong>de</strong>r the Morgan<br />
Spurlock Presents brand.<br />
Future titles for AAA inclu<strong>de</strong> the documentary Chops, Heavy Metal<br />
in Baghdad, Seoul Rai<strong>de</strong>rs and Never Forever starring Vera Farmiga.<br />
Arts Alliance America is a division of Arts Alliance Media, based<br />
in London and Paris. AAM is Europe’s leading provi<strong>de</strong>r of digital
film distribution services <strong>de</strong>dicated to building a European<br />
digital network to <strong>de</strong>liver film to the cinema, home and between<br />
industry players.<br />
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong><br />
A Film Directed by Alison Thompson and Produced by Oscar Gubernati<br />
Credits<br />
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>THIRD</strong> <strong>WAVE</strong><br />
An Ozone Pictures/Walkabout Production<br />
In association with<br />
Warrior Poets, Arts Alliance America and Endless Films.<br />
Cast:<br />
Donny Paterson: Newcastle, Australia.<br />
Bruce French: Telluri<strong>de</strong>, Colorado.<br />
Oscar Gubernati: Palermo Italy, New York<br />
Alison Thompson Australia and New York.<br />
Village Chief A.P Darmedasa<br />
And The People of Peraliya, Sri Lanka.<br />
Director: Alison Thompson<br />
Producer: Oscar Gubernati<br />
Exec Producers: Morgan Spurlock<br />
Joe Amo<strong>de</strong>i<br />
Peter Demas<br />
Kym Anthony<br />
Alison Thompson<br />
Co-Exec. Producers: Richard Belfiore<br />
Dave Pe<strong>de</strong>rson<br />
Co-Producers: Cedar Daniels<br />
Jeremy Chilnick<br />
Marco Franzoni<br />
Sunil Elvitigala<br />
Russ Terlecki
Editor: Cedar Daniels<br />
Co-Editor: Peter Demas<br />
Cinematography: Sunil Elvitigala<br />
Marco Franzoni<br />
Composers: Mario Grigorov<br />
Jaron Lenier
Sir Lanka Translators: Chamilla Priyanthi<br />
Paddi mamma<br />
Ginnie Mahr<br />
Nalin Mohan<br />
New York Translators: Irosh Colombage<br />
Amila Goonawar<strong>de</strong>na<br />
Oshadhi Kapuge<br />
Ranjan Samarakone<br />
Associate Producers: Paul O’Neil<br />
Production Lawyer: Paul O’Neil<br />
Irosh Colombage<br />
Publicists: David Magdael and<br />
Associates<br />
David Magdael<br />
Winston Emano<br />
Sales Rep: Cinetic Media<br />
John Sloss<br />
Special thanks to CNN, BBC Motion Gallery, CBS and ABC.<br />
Original refugee websites:<br />
peraliya.com<br />
Communitytsunamiwarning.com<br />
Footballwithoutboundaries.com<br />
Thethirdwavemovie.com