The Third Wave
(USA, 2007, 96 minutes, English & Singhalese w/ English subtitles)
Director Alison Thompson and Producer Oscar Gubernati will be here in person
Two screenings:
Fri. Oct. 16 at 7:00pm
Sat. Oct. 17 at 4:00pm
Fri. Oct. 16 at 7:00pm
Sat. Oct. 17 at 4:00pm
This documentary chronicles the journey of four independent volunteers who meet each other in Sri Lanka, where they have come to help in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. With little money or experience they meet each other at the airport by fate, rent a van, fill it with supplies and drive off along the coast. They stumble into Peraliya, a tribal village that has been devastated. What was originally a two-week journey spirals into a year-long odyssey of hope, heartbreak and setbacks. The volunteers break every rule in the "Disaster Aid books" while fatigue, despair and bureaucracy take their toll on villagers and volunteers alike. Juxtaposing candid footage of the realities of a disaster with images of joy, rebirth, and hope, this film promotes the message that in a world of increased natural and man-made disasters, we are all in this together and everyone is needed, no experience required. Note: This film may not be appropriate for children as it contains some graphic images from the disaster.
Alison Thompson. Director & Volunteer
Alison Thompson was born in the outskirts of Sydney in the Australian bush. Raised a preacher's daughter, she has lived and shot in over 30 countries. A former medic and mathematics teacher, Alison moved to New York in 1990 and later enrolled at NYU film school. She directed and Exec. Produced her first Feature Comedy called High Times’ Potluck which won eleven film festival awards including ‘Best Directorial Debut’ and ‘Best Screenplay’ written by Victor Collichio. She just completed directing Sean Penn’s new film: The Dirty Hands Caravan in post production 2009. Alison is working on her new narrative feature film called “Messiah” A cautionary tale of extremist religions, based on the book by Gore Vidal.
On September 11, 2001 Alison, roller-bladed to the World Trade Center with her medical kit and became a first responder rescue worker. For the following nine months, she worked as a volunteer at Ground Zero where Her 'Potluck' film Investor and many of her friends were among those killed. That experience changed her life and of her direction as a filmmaker , with a focus now on stories with more meaningful messages to the world. She is the Creator and Founder of CTEC, the first Tsunami Early-warning Center in Sri Lanka. The Center is still the only one in Sri Lanka today. In 2005 She received a Humanitarian Award by the Sri Lanka Government and Rotary Intl. for her services to the victims of the Tsunami Disaster.
Oscar Gubernati - Producer & Volunteer
Oscar Gubernati was born and raised in Palermo, Italy and moved to Los Angeles in 1990 to attend film studies at UCLA. After his graduation he became the Executive Vice President of Stone Canyon Entertainment, a production company based at MGM studios in Los Angeles. He has worked as an independent feature producer including: Tecknolust; Golf Punks, I Woke up Early the Day I Died, Woundings, South of Heaven West of Hell, Welcome to Hollywood and he is currently producing Sean Penn’s The Dirty Hands Caravan, in post production 2009.
In 2002 Oscar moved to NYC to establish Ozone Pictures Inc., a production company specializing in Film Financing, Co-productions & Distribution consulting with focus on films with social and humanitarian content. He also served as Co-Executive Director of IHAF International Humanitarian Artist Foundation, a charitable organization whom awarded artists for their humanitarian efforts. He is the founder of Football Without Boundaries, an organization with the focus of promoting Peace through Sports. In 2005 Oscar successfully negotiated and organized a football/soccer match between two ethnicities who have been at civil war for 40 years, the Sinhalese Vs. the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.
In 2005 He received a Humanitarian Award by the Sri Lanka Government and Rotary Intl. for his services to the victims of the Tsunami Disaster. He is currently serving as executive Director of The Claudio Reyna Foundation a charitable organization devoted to provide assistance to children in low income communities through Soccer.
