Myanmar Diaries (Burmese: မြန်မာဒိုင်ယာရီ), is a 2022 Burmese-Dutch-Norwegian collage film documenting the aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, which led to nationwide protests, a brutal crackdown, and the ongoing civil war,[2]
| Myanmar Diaries | |
|---|---|
| Burmese | မြန်မာဒိုင်ယာရီ |
| Directed by | Myanmar Film Collective |
| Written by | Myanmar Film Collective |
| Produced by | |
Production company | ZIN Documentaire |
| Distributed by | Autlook Filmsales Icarus Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 70 minutes |
| Countries |
|
| Language | Burmese |
Summary
editThe film is a series of short films, some of which feature fictional stories or reenactments of true events, directed by the Myanmar Film Collective, an anonymous group of ten[3] young Burmese filmmakers.[4][5]
Production
editMyanmar Diaries was shot by various anonymous filmmakers in the aftermath of the Myanmar coup d'état that occurred on 1 February 2021.[6]
Myanmar Diaries was first screened in the "Panorama" section of the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival on 13 February 2022.
Critical reception
editThe film was well received by audiences and won the Berlinale Documentary Award, Bronze Panoroma Audience Award, and Amnesty Film Award at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival.[2] It was also shown at other film festivals, including the 27th Busan International Film Festival. The film was shortlisted as one of three submissions made by the Netherlands to compete for Best Documentary Film at the 95th Academy Awards.[7] Myanmar Diaries was awarded the inaugural Tony Elliott Impact Award at the annual Human Rights Watch Film Festival.[8]
Phuong Le, writing for The Guardian in the United Kingdom, gave the film four out of five stars, praising it as a "powerful" and "gut-punching" testament to the violence of the military coup.[9] Lee Marshall of Screen Daily also expressed enthusiasm for the film, albeit with reservations for the fictional segments, stating that it "lacks a unifying narrative and is something of an uneven assortment.... But taken as a whole, Myanmar Diaries is both an urgent denunciation of human rights abuses and a thought-provoking work of art".[10]
Accolades
edit| Award | Ceremony date | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin International Film Festival | 20 February 2022 | Berlinale Documentary Award | The Myanmar Film Collective | Won |
| Amnesty International Film Award[11] | Myanmar Diaries | Won | ||
| Human Rights Watch Film Festival | 10 February 2022 | Tony Elliott Impact Award[11][12] | Myanmar Diaries | Won |
| Biografilm Festival | 2022 | Audience Award International Competition[13] | Myanmar Diaries | Won |
See also
edit- Broken Dreams: Stories from the Myanmar Coup, a 2023 Burmese anthology film considered as a follow-up to Myanmar Diaries
- Burma VJ, a 2007 Danish documentary film about the Saffron Revolution
- Rays of Hope, a 2023 autobiographical documentary by director Ko Pauk about his life during the Myanmar civil war
- Losing Ground (2023 film), a short documentary film about the situation of young people in Yangon during the civil war
References
edit- ^ a b "The World-Changing Power of True Stories". Edmund Hillary Fellowship. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ a b Grobar, Matt (12 December 2022). "Icarus Films Picks Up Rights To Berlin Prize-Winning Documentary 'Myanmar Diaries'". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
- ^ "Myanmar Diaries. 2022. Directed by the Myanmar Film Collective". MoMA. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "How a secret group of filmmakers is taking on a brutal dictatorship". Time Out Worldwide. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ^ Dasgupta, Priyanka (6 December 2023). "Exiled Myanmar director brings tales of courage". Times of India. Kolkata: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
Bo [Thet Htun] fled from Myanmar to Thailand in July 2021. 'That's because we got the information that the police were tracing us. So, we moved and we finished the production for "Myanmar Diaries",' Bo told TOI on his maiden visit to India.
- ^ Roxborough, Scott (10 February 2022). "Berlin: How a Group of Anonymous Filmmakers Documented Life Under Terror in Myanmar". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "Myanmar Diaries documentary film submitted by Netherlands to 2023 Oscars". DVB. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
- ^ "Myanmar Diaries". Human Rights Watch Film Festival. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ^ Le, Phuong (6 February 2023). "Myanmar Diaries review – gut-punching guerrilla testament to military coup violence". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ Marshall, Lee (16 February 2024). "'Myanmar Diaries': Berlin Review". Screen Daily. Media Business Insight Limited. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ a b Roxborough, Scott (17 February 2022). "Berlin: 'Myanmar Diaries' Wins Amnesty International Film Award". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "Myanmar Diaries (2022) Awards & Festivals". MUBI. MUBI UK Limited. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "Premi 2021". Biografilm. Retrieved 2024-06-04.