Shot on location in Western Sydney, NSW, using the revolutionary new RED ONE cameras, MISSING WATER was not a conventional film shoot.
Many of the cast and crew from THE FINISHED PEOPLE came back for this film. It’s back-to-our-roots film-making. Short shooting period. Intense rehearsals. Very small crew. This is our style.
Working with exceptional talent including SON OF A LION’S editor Alison Croft, THE BANK’S composer Alan John, MOULIN ROUGE’S makeup artist Elka Wardega and DOP, Peter Holland, MISSING WATER looks real. Handheld, raw and real.
The script was inspired by MOTHER FISH – a 2008 play produced by Powerhouse Youth Theatre that attracted
sell-out audiences. The extraordinary cast of MOTHER FISH returned and were pushed to the limits with MISSING WATER.
The two sisters are played by two first-time actors on film – Kathy Nguyen and Sheena Pham. Both have had incredible life experiences and both know this world. Kathy’s parents left Vietnam by boat. So did Vico’s parents, who played Chau.
But Hieu Phan, who plays Uncle, left on a boat himself in 1979. He needed time to film some of our scenes. This is as personal as it gets for Hieu. Close to the heart. When Hieu chokes up as he farewells Vietnam when the boat pulls out of the shore, he is not performing – he is recreating a real event.