''The Third Wave'' film was shot in Sri Lanka following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. It was directed by Alison Thompson and produced by Oscar Gubernati.

Plot

After the 2004 Asian tsunami disaster, four independent volunteers, with little money and no experience, race off to volunteer in tsunami ravaged Sri Lanka. They meet up by fate at the Colombo airport and form a volunteer team. They rent a van, fill it with supplies and start driving down the coast to see where they can help. They stumble into a tribal village called Peraliya, which has been destroyed by a forty-foot wave. During the time the wave hit Peraliya, a train called "The Queen of the Sea" was passing by and was washed away killing over 2,500 passengers and villagers. The four volunteers set up a first aid station and found themselves in charge of running a refugee camp with over 3,000 people. Their initial two week journey turns into a year long odyssey of heartbreak and hope as the villagers turn against them when donated tsunami relief money does not materialize. The volunteers concentrate on the bigger picture and break every rule in the 'Disaster Aid Books'.

Release

''The Third Wave'' first premiered at the 2007

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...

in New York. In 2008

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

came aboard as Executive Producer and it screened in the first ever Presidential jury screening at the 2008

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. ''The Third Wave'' has been an official selection of the

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be the ...

, Sydney International Film Festival,

Denver Film Festival The Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily at the Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver, Colorado, now the Anna and John J. Sie FilmCenter (Sie FilmCenter). Premiere events are held in the Buell Theatre and Ellie Caulkins Opera House ...

, Monaco Charity Film Festival, South Asian International Film Festival and City of Angels Film Festival in Los Angeles.

References

*http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2008/04/cannes-jury-pre.html *http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/penn-brings-third-wave-to-cannes/2008/05/17/1210765230193.html *http://abc.com.au/news/stories/2008/05/17/2247867.html

External links

*
The Third Wave
2007 films American documentary films Documentary films about the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami Films set in Asia 2007 documentary films Films shot in Sri Lanka Films scored by Mario Grigorov 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{hist-documentary-film-stub