The December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake qualifies as one of the most formidable natural disasters in modern history; the death toll far exceeded 275,000 (with many of the casualties documented as simply lost instead of dead) and thousands upon thousands of small towns and villages in the far east were annihilated or damaged to nearly irreperable levels. Alison Thompson's social activist documentary THE THIRD WAVE chronicles the experiences of four volunteers who traveled to one such town - Peraliya, Sri Lanka - to assist in any way possible. The film begins by documenting the heartbreak, confusion and devastation in that geographic area, but quickly spirals into a tale of uplift about the community renaissance initiated when a cadre of determined men and women join forces and work toward an improved way of life for the disadvantaged.