Missing Water

Sheena Pham was born in 1995 in Saigon, Vietnam. At the age of six months, Sheena and her family moved to Australia. Sheena is currently in year 9, and has participated in many school plays and musicals such as the lead role of ‘Noil’ in THE GIRL WHO FELL THROUGH A HOLE IN HER JUMPER. Sheena enjoys dancing, drama, art and also plays the bass guitar, piano and the cello.

Born in Australia in 1987 to Vietnamese refugees, Kathy grew up in the south western suburbs with two younger sisters. In her first year of university she began working at an extras agency to earn extra money and fell in love with the film industry. As well as continuing her media degree, Kathy has also completed various short courses in acting at university and at NIDA. She finished her media degree in multimedia and graduated in April, 2008. She hopes to pursue her passion for acting.

“MISSING WATER has shown me the sacrifice that my family has made in order for me to have a better life. I am proud to be telling their story.”
- Kathy Nguyen

Vico Thai was born in Vietnam. He and his family settled in Sydney and he studied at The Australian Theatre for Young People, where he was awarded a two year scholarship. During his time at ATYP, Vico appeared in several productions including CORRAGIO, MACBETH and BEYOND THE GAME. More recently he appeared in Urban Theatre Projects’ FAST CARS AND TRACTOR ENGINES and performed with Hillsong at the Seymour Centre. Vico is also no stranger on Australian screens, with numerous commercials and short films under his belt. Vico was one of the stars on Foxtel’s AFI-nominated show DANGEROUS working alongside Joel Edgerton, Brooke Stachwell and Khan Chitt-enden. He has also guest starred on YOUNG LIONS, EAST WEST 101 and the international film documentary IN OUR NAME.

“This is a powerful and compelling story. I have discovered many unknown facets on this journey – about my culture, history and mother country. This is a universal story that any Australian can relate to whether young or old.”
- Vico Thai

Hieu Phan trained as an Engineer in Vietnam before his life was irrevocably disrupted by the Vietnam War. He, his wife and sister-in-law escaped Vietnam on an overcrowded boat in 1979, surviving a dangerous sea journey before eventually arriving in Australia with just a few dollars in his pocket. In 1980 he worked as a labourer for the Sunbeam Corporation, in 1982 he was the Commissioning & Maintenance Engineer at Earring and Bayswater power stations. He became Chief Engineer at the Children’s Hospital in 1987, a position he still holds today. Hieu has been involved in the design and construction of The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, and received the Hospital Engineer of the Year Award in 2002. Hieu’s first acting experience came in playing a lead role in DELIVERY DAY (2001), a half-hour drama which Khoa Do wrote. Since then, he has appeared in minor roles in a number of different television projects.

“I’m glad to be a part of MISSING WATER, as the boat people have a lot to tell all Australians regardless of their background. Most importantly, it lets the next generation know what their parents, grandparents went through for them to have the good life they are enjoying now.”
– Hieu Phan