Written and Directed by Thao Lam and Kjell Boersma
Produced by Justine Pimlott, Jelena Popović
It comes down to karma: as a little girl in Vietnam, Thao’s mother would rescue ants from bowls of sugar water. The tiny creatures would later return the favour, leading her desperate family through darkness—and pointing the way to safety. In Boat People, illustrator and author Thao Lam undertakes a creative rescue mission of her own, joining forces with animator Kjell Boersma to recount her family’s dramatic trajectory across the turbulent waters of 20th-century history.