By Lindsay Bird
When the tsunami hit southeast Asia last December it tugged at the heartstrings of many and prompted three BYU students to use filmmaking as a way to capture the impact the disaster had on the area.
Scott Christopherson, Rob Nyland and Chris Coy traveled to Thailand this past summer to record the victims? stories on film. The result of their experience is a documentary titled ?Saksan,? which will be shown at this week?s Final Cut.
BYU Student Film Association president Scott Christopherson, a senior majoring in media arts, served his mission in Thailand and said he decided to make the documentary to give back to the Thai people he grew to love.
?We wanted them to make their own, short documentary films about their lives, so we went to Khao Lak, a small town in the tsunami-hit region of southern Thailand,? Christopherson said.
Christopherson said they came across a man named Saksan who helps single mothers, orphans and elderly people affected by the tsunami through a non-profit aid organization. Saksan said he wanted to make a film about his people.
The BYU students taught Saksan how to use video equipment and edit film on an Apple computer. The subject of Saksan?s film was about a family of nine who live in a small shack in Khao Lak.
?Our film is about him and the film he made,? Christopherson said. ?So you will actually see his film within this film as well as him talking about the filmmaking process.?
?Saksan? film collaborator, Rob Nyland, a graduate student in communications, said the film they made was simply to frame the movie Saksan made.
?If you view the film by itself, it is a really great story,? Nyland said. ?But when you know the context of its creation, I think that''s when it really becomes something truly remarkable.?
He said the film is unique because it is more about the process than the product. They went to Thailand with the hope of helping natives tell their own story, and the filmmakers were given the chance to fulfill their dream, Nyland said.
?We didn''t want to take the American perspective of ?Oh, look at these poor people,?? Nyland said. ?We wanted the view to come from a Thai person himself, where he can say ?This is my brother, we have suffered together, this is our story.??
Despite the tragedy of the situation, Nyland said he does not want the audience to feel pity when they watch the film.
?I really hope that the audience will feel inspired. I hope that they will interact with the film,? Nyland said. ?The challenge for the audience is for them to be patient and try to create a meaning that is valuable to them.?
Chris Coy, another collaborator on ?Saksan,? said the film is unique because of the perspective of the main character as a Thai aid worker.
Coy said the tsunami affected many of his friends, and because of this he decided to go back and help them.
?As a traveler and a student, I have come to experience so many things because of other''s generosity,? Coy said. ?I love Thailand and its people.?