'Letter to the President' heavily censored
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"Letter to the President", a feature film by noted Myanmar director Wyne, has been under review by the Myanmar film censorship board for three months, and there's still no sign of the film being given the board's permission anytime soon.
The board has requested that a character who’s portrayed as the son of a minister be changed to the son of a minister’s crony.
“The censorship board has approved of the film’s title. But we’ve received instructions to change details related to the judiciary [system]. We have clearly explained to them that changes will be made accordingly, but some of the scenes really need to be filmed [soon]. But the latest situation is that I’ve been told via the producer to change the profile of a character who’s the son of a minister.
“They want that character portrayed as the son of a minister’s crony as requested by Information Minister Ye Htut. He didn’t tell me directly, but changing this will damage the backbone of the story so I won’t change it. This film will portray interference by the executive branch in the judiciary sector. The film will not focus on the negative aspects of the government. We will only film that issue that represents the public. I don’t see why it takes such a long time to receive permission for filming,” said Wyne.
Normally an application for the censorship board’s permission takes between two and four weeks. “Letter to the President” portrays Myanmar’s current political life, with the writing of its screenplay done in a year. Wyne originally planned to start filming in August, which may be subject to delay.
