A highly regarded Canadian short animated film is once again in the spotlight. On November 19, “Boat People” achieved the distinction of being featured as a Staff Pick on Vimeo.
Directed and written by Toronto children’s book author and illustrator Thao Lam and Toronto animator Kjell Boersma, “Boat People” recounts a difficult journey that Lam’s family made from Vietnam to Canada. Lam was only two years old at time.
“The curation team was impressed by how the film employs a deceptively simple, children’s storybook-like animation style to tell an emotionally rich and complex story of war, loss and survival,” Vimeo stated.
“Boat People” is also available through the National Film Board, YouTube, POV.org, and the PBS app.
According to Lam and Boersma, their film is “a reminder that nobody willingly abandons their home, leaving behind their family, friends and possessions”.
“Throughout history, every migration, animal or human, is done out of necessity, and should be embraced with empathy and understanding,” they declared in a statement. “Grateful to Vimeo for bringing this to a global audience.”
Lam was among 1.6 million people who fled Vietnam after the Communists seized control of what was previously known as South Vietnam in the mid-1970s.
Watch “Boat People” above.
Lam says script went through many stages
In “Boat People”, Lam and Boersma employ 2-D animation, 3-D rendering, and stop-motion multi-panels to draw parallels between the migration of ants and refugees escaping Vietnam.
“We did a ton of research, on both the Vietnam War and ant behaviour,” Lam says in an interview on the NFB website, “and we began seeing all kinds of connections: how ants have an instinct not simply to survive but also to protect each other. The script went through many stages, but I think we’ve found a nice balance between the two stories.”
“Boat People” won several prizes, including the Helen Hill Award for Animated Short and the Audience Award for Animated Short at the New Orleans Film Festival in 2023. That year, “Boat People” also captured the Milos Stehlik Global Impact Award at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. In addition, it received the Grand Jury Prize for Animated Short at the Calgary International Film Festival.
In November of 2023, “Boat People” was screened at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival and the SPARK Animation Festival in Vancouver.
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