PRINT > BROADCAST > ONLINE

MORE FILMS Tanim Pacific Solution Waka Moana Starship Millennium Voyage Adventure Morocco Adventure Northern Territory Liquid Stone

Pacific Solution
2005 / New Zealand, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Nauru, Australia
Director James Frankham
Producer Annie Goldson

On the day the World Trade Center crumbled, the lives of 438 Afghan refugees were hanging in the balance off the coast of Australia, fleeing the persecution of the Taliban regime. The refugees; rescued by the Norwegian container ship, the MV Tampa, became the centre of a media maelstrom as their world changed forever.

Pacific Solution tells the story of their experience, the new home they found in New Zealand, and follows the remarkable quest of their families to join them. Through the prism of their journey, this intimate documentary examines the political context of the refugee crisis facing our world.

Under a family reunification programme, the ‘Tampa Boys’ were allowed to invite their immediate relatives to join them in New Zealand; rebuilding families shattered by war, persecution and asylum. Pacific Solution travels to Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, following the families of the newest New Zealanders as they prepare to leave. Some are still living in exile, most will have to travel great distances and few have ever been in a plane. All will leave the friends and extended family members they have come to rely on.

It is a time of tension, but also hope; for the prospect of living in New Zealand ends many years of hardship and the long-awaited reunion with lost children. The documentary captures both the moment of reunion and the difficult process of cultural adaptation as they forge a new life in new land.