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Writer Abi Morgan
(photo: Dale Wilcox/WireImage.com)
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HBO:
What was it about the tsunami disaster that
inspired you to write this script?
ABI MORGAN:
Well, what was interesting was that
originally, I was looking to write something
about charities, and why we give large
amounts of money to certain causes. While
I was starting to research this, the 2004
tsunami took place. And it was
overwhelming to see how people
responded, and the level of support, both
financially and otherwise, that took place.
So that was the starting point, really. And
as I explored it, I discovered more and
more stories that just were so irresistible,
and, I thought, really important to write.
We focused on Thailand because it had this
great balance of East meets West. And
when I started to talk about some of the
stories I was reading about in the press, I
think everyone realized that there was
something really interesting and important
to say, that may move beyond just the
arena of looking at the way charities work,
and why we give, really. So that was sort of
the starting point.
For me, the story kind of wrote itself. We
went to Thailand in July of 2005, and met
a number of different people who had
either been affected in the tsunami, or had
taken part afterwards and had become
involved. Quite rapidly, it became
apparent that there was something quite
important here to write.
We met some heads of NGO's who had
been involved in the crisis. And we met
families and survivors who had been
directly affected. We met a number of
government officials and politicians, the
Burmese community and the human rights
workers working with them. There was
just such a cross section of stories, and it
was such fertile territory.
But I think what was key was when I met a
man who had lost a child. And what
became pivotal to the drama is the journey
of Ian and Suzy, who were a couple who
lose their daughter, and their journey to try
and find her. And I was very touched by
this man and his story, really. And I think
he was really the starting point for realizing
that this needed to be something that
looked at not only the way the industry of
survival after a natural disaster takes
place, but also looking at how it affects
such a diverse range of people.
It's really important to remember this is a
fictional drama that's inspired by true
events. And more than anything, that gave
me the license to tell a diverse range of
stories, and to have a certain take on how
we react, and not only on a personal level,
but also on a global level to a tsunami of
that kind.
HBO:
What's the film about?
ABI MORGAN:
Well, if I was going to distill it into one
central theme, I would say that it's about
the fragility of life, and quite literally how a
wave can come in and devastate your life,
and how you recover from that. So I guess
it's about how people recover their lives
after what is supposedly a natural disaster,
and ask questions about how we can
perhaps learn from this experience, and
change things for the future, really.
HBO:
What do you hope people will take away
from the film?
ABI MORGAN:
Well, I think the other theme of this
particular drama is how do you recover
your faith? How can a disaster like this
happen? And what is a government's role
when a disaster like this happens to its
citizens? It's really about citizenship, in a
way. It's about how we work together. It's
about the difference between East and
West. It's about how we survive the death
of our future, really, which is what a child
is for this particular couple.
And it asks quite fundamental questions
about how we live on this planet, and our
responsibility globally - if we are going to go
into these countries and consider them
tourist resorts. Do we have a global
responsibility therefore to safeguard those
places?
One of the key storylines is the journey of
the Thai waiter when the tsunami hits, and
how it devastates his local fishing village.
And it's about his fight to save his village,
having lost his family. And the issue of
landgrabbing - which was very pertinent in
the weeks after the tsunami hit - not only
in Thailand, but also in Sri Lanka, and
Indonesia, and other coastal areas of the
Andaman coast. So I think it raises these
issues about what it means to be part of a
global village as well.
HBO:
Is there an element of hope in this story,
ultimately?
ABI MORGAN:
I was incredibly moved and quite
profoundly affected by the resilience of
some of these people. And what was quite
astonishing actually was also the different
way people dealt with grief.
You know, I have two small children, and I
don't know if I could survive their deaths,
really. And yet again and again I met
people who survived not only the death of
children, but the death of partners, of close
family members and friends. I found that
incredibly profound. And I think this is
really a piece about that: about how we live
with tragic events, really.
So I think that the message of hope at the
heart of this piece is really the incredible
depth of the human spirit to survive an
overwhelming tragedy.
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