Children of the Tsunami: No More Tears
Encyclopedia
Children of Tsunami: No More Tears is a 24-minute documentary film
that was produced at the end of 2005. The program depicts the lives of eight children in four Asian countries during the year following the Indian Ocean tsunami that struck South and Southeast Asia on 26 December 2004. It was co-produced by the Singapore-based regional news and current affairs channel Channel News Asia, in partnership with TVE Asia Pacific. It was broadcast Asia-wide by the Channel News Asia on the 26 December 2005, the first anniversary of the Asian tsunami, and has since been repeated several times.
, Indonesia
, Sri Lanka
, and Thailand
and shows three girls and two boys aged eight to 16 years from different backgrounds and nationalities. All the children are from average families affected by the disaster in different ways: some lost their loved ones; others lost their homes and property or were thrown out of their jobs.
The film was one of several media outputs of the media project launched by TVEAP Asia Pacific, a non-profit media foundation.
From February to October 2005, TVEAP commissioned local film-makers who made monthly visits to two families in each country. Based on location filming and field investigations, they produced television, video and web stories for national, regional and global dissemination. These visits resulted in monthly video reports which "captured the stories of the children, their families and their communities" as they coped with many challenges in rebuilding their shattered lived. These video reports are still available at the Children of Tsunami website.
The regional production team comprised supervising producer Bruce Moir, production assistant Yohan Abeynaike, production manager Manori Wijesekera, and executive producers Joanne Teoh Kheng Yau and Nalaka Gunawardene. Meanwhile, TVE Asia Pacific produced a longer documentary titled Children of Tsunami: The Journey Continues (48 minutes). It is meant to be a story of "their personal stories of anguish and survival, courage and resilience". This longer version has had substantial broadcast outreach, having been broadcast on 17 Asian TV channels since its initial release in December 2005, and been versioned into several Asian languages. It has also had wide distribution on video and DVD formats to educational, civil society and humanitarian groups across Asia and beyond. Both documentary films continue to be screened at meetings, conferences, film festivals and other public and private events, catalyzing discussion and debate on Asia’s recovery from the 2004 tsunami. TVEAP has produced an educational outreach section of the website that enables schools, universities and other groups to use films for learning about disaster recovery.
The eight children featured in the project were: Selvam (13) of Tamil Nadu
, India
, Mala (11) also of Tamil Nadu
, India
, Putri (8) of Aceh
, Indonesia
, Yenni (15) also of Aceh
, Indonesia
, Heshani (13) of Matara, Sri Lanka
, Theeban (14) of Sri Lanka
, Bao (16) of Phang Nga
, Thailand
and Beam (8) of Phang Nga
, Thailand
.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
that was produced at the end of 2005. The program depicts the lives of eight children in four Asian countries during the year following the Indian Ocean tsunami that struck South and Southeast Asia on 26 December 2004. It was co-produced by the Singapore-based regional news and current affairs channel Channel News Asia, in partnership with TVE Asia Pacific. It was broadcast Asia-wide by the Channel News Asia on the 26 December 2005, the first anniversary of the Asian tsunami, and has since been repeated several times.
Production
The film was shot in eight locations in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and shows three girls and two boys aged eight to 16 years from different backgrounds and nationalities. All the children are from average families affected by the disaster in different ways: some lost their loved ones; others lost their homes and property or were thrown out of their jobs.
The film was one of several media outputs of the media project launched by TVEAP Asia Pacific, a non-profit media foundation.
From February to October 2005, TVEAP commissioned local film-makers who made monthly visits to two families in each country. Based on location filming and field investigations, they produced television, video and web stories for national, regional and global dissemination. These visits resulted in monthly video reports which "captured the stories of the children, their families and their communities" as they coped with many challenges in rebuilding their shattered lived. These video reports are still available at the Children of Tsunami website.
The regional production team comprised supervising producer Bruce Moir, production assistant Yohan Abeynaike, production manager Manori Wijesekera, and executive producers Joanne Teoh Kheng Yau and Nalaka Gunawardene. Meanwhile, TVE Asia Pacific produced a longer documentary titled Children of Tsunami: The Journey Continues (48 minutes). It is meant to be a story of "their personal stories of anguish and survival, courage and resilience". This longer version has had substantial broadcast outreach, having been broadcast on 17 Asian TV channels since its initial release in December 2005, and been versioned into several Asian languages. It has also had wide distribution on video and DVD formats to educational, civil society and humanitarian groups across Asia and beyond. Both documentary films continue to be screened at meetings, conferences, film festivals and other public and private events, catalyzing discussion and debate on Asia’s recovery from the 2004 tsunami. TVEAP has produced an educational outreach section of the website that enables schools, universities and other groups to use films for learning about disaster recovery.
Format
While the eight tsunami-surviving children served as "story guides," the filming also covered their extended families, neighbors, and local communities. Using their specific experiences, the film showed how tsunami recovery was progressing – or, in some places, stagnating – across affected Asia. Instead of being laden with data and statistics, as most documentaries on the subject did, these films allowed the tsunami-affected people to express their views, frustrations and even anger in their own words. The eight families participated in this project with informed consent, and with no material benefits for themselves.The eight children featured in the project were: Selvam (13) of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Mala (11) also of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Putri (8) of Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Yenni (15) also of Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Heshani (13) of Matara, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Theeban (14) of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Bao (16) of Phang Nga
Phang Nga Province
Phang Nga is one of the southern provinces of Thailand, on the shore to the Andaman Sea. Neighboring provinces are Ranong, Surat Thani and Krabi. To the south is the Phuket province, but without land boundary to Phang Nga....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Beam (8) of Phang Nga
Phang Nga Province
Phang Nga is one of the southern provinces of Thailand, on the shore to the Andaman Sea. Neighboring provinces are Ranong, Surat Thani and Krabi. To the south is the Phuket province, but without land boundary to Phang Nga....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
External links
- TVEAP Director Nalaka Gunawardene looks back at Children of Tsunami experience
- TVEAP Programme Manager Manori Wijesekera on "Reconstruction Tsunami Aid"
- Meet the eight children and families who participated in Children of Tsunami
- Meet the four story teller teams and regional production team
- Children of Tsunami revisited two years after the disaster