FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After the Tsunami, the latest documentary from Emmy winner and journalism professor Larry Foley, will be featured in October screenings at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, the Fayetteville Public Library and the Clinton Presidential Center.

This 30-minute film tells the story of Indonesian college graduate students who came to universities in the United States on scholarships following the 2004 tsunami that killed 173,000 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. It also follows graduates who are back home working in the fields of education, agriculture, government and business. One of the graduates runs an orphanage for children who lost their families in the tsunami.

“Students from Indonesia who had been through tragedy and disaster were able to come to Texas A&M and the University of Arkansas to help rebuild their lives and their country,” said Skip Rutherford, dean of the Clinton School of Public Service. “While most of the students in Arkansas attended the U of A, three attended the Clinton School and they were extraordinary. This is an excellent film about an amazing achievement that President George H.W. Bush and President Bill Clinton were able to accomplish together.”

Former presidents Clinton and Bush championed the program, which intended to help restore the human capital in Aceh Provence. Much of the early relief was dedicated to food, shelter and the necessities of everyday life. While roads and houses were being rebuilt, scholarships allowed 75 students to go away for a brief time so they could come home to rebuild what could not be replaced with asphalt and brick and mortar.

“It's a powerful and meaningful story — perhaps the most emotional of my career,” Foley said.

The film was narrated in first person by Rina Meutia one of the students who graduated from the Clinton School. It was written and produced by Foley, and Leslee Wright served as associate producer. The photographers were Jim Borden, Josh Irwin and journalism instructor Hayot Tuychiev. Tuychiev also edited the film. James Greeson, Emmy-winning composer and professor of music composition, wrote the original musical score. After the Tsunami was filmed in Arkansas, Texas and Indonesia.

Daniel E. Ferritor, former chancellor of the University of Arkansas and current vice president of academic affairs for the University of Arkansas System, served as the director of the Arkansas Bush-Clinton Fulbright scholarship program.

Public Screenings

12:45 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16, at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in the Arlington Hotel. Foley will attend the screening.

2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, at the Fayetteville Public Library. A reception with the filmmakers will follow the 2 p.m. screening. Meutia will attend from Indonesia.  

6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, in the Great Hall at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. Ferritor and Meutia will participate in a question and answer session following the screening. The event is hosted by University of Arkansas System President Donald R. Bobbitt.

DVDs are available through University of Arkansas Press.