Screens of dignity

  “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” reads the poster, which is flanked by another announcing the latest blockbuster from Hollywood in Yangon’s upmarket Junction Cineplex.

 But the crowd has come not to see Halle Berry in “The Call” or even “Pee Mak”, the blockbuster comedy from Thailand, but to watch “Survival in Prison”, a feature-length documentary about political prisoner and activist San Zaw Htway. Entrance is free, the theatres are packed and the film is followed by applause.

“Survival” was the opener of the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival (HRHDIFF) on Saturday night. The spotlight of this event is on human rights and is showcasing films that tackle issues about Myanmar’s political prisoners, domestic violence, refugees and elections, as well as similar issues from around the world. 

“I didn’t expect such a big turnout,” says a smiling Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, the director and the founder of this debut festival, which is showing the work of many young filmmakers from Myanmar, some for the first time. 

The young director was attended last year’s “One World Human Rights Documentary Festival” in Prague and returned home determined to host a similar event. Just a few years ago, any film openly discussing human rights in Myanmar would have met the axe of the censorship board and the artist or director could be facing prison time for sedition. But all of that seems to have changed.

“Of course I was worried about permission, but I was pleasantly surprised,” he says. “I submitted all our films to the censorship board and they accepted them without changing a thing.

“We need to raise these issues and I think that aside from the mainstream industry, there are many young filmmakers experimenting with new styles and starting to confront questions that involve human rights. I wanted this festival to provide that platform,” Min Htin explains. 

The restrictions that once regulated all forms of expression in Myanmar have been relaxed – for now – and many artists, filmmakers, as well as the media, are enjoying new-found freedoms to cover uncensored ground. But as Myanmar embarks on a difficult journey of transition from military rule to democracy, the road is fraught with invisible bumps. 

Kyaw Thu Min Naing is the son of the well known Myanmar director, the late U Min Maing. He began his career as a child actor in one of his father’s films and sees himself as carrying on a family tradition. 

“My father could not engage with these issues in his films. In his time there was no democracy or human rights,” says the 30-year old director. He remembers his father taking him to watch the 1988 pro-democracy protests. They stood as bystanders, as his father feared losing his job if he became involved, but the memory holding his father’s hand and watching the short-lived euphoria stayed with him. As a filmmaker, he feels artists need to begin engaging with difficult questions. 

“I’ve grown up under the military government. It’s difficult to say if this is the right time or not, but if we don’t encourage people to speak out now, we could be going back to where we came 

 from. So we as filmmakers need to engage in these questions; it’s the only way we can move forward,” he says.

His short documentary “Pay Back” is showing at the festival and consists of a selection of direct, close-up interviews with people from different walks of life – taxi drivers, shop keepers, students, businessmen and teashop workers – asking them what they think of human rights. Many admit that they have heard the words but don’t know what they mean. Others say that human rights are “restricted words” but most agreed that human rights are something to work for.

“I wanted to show that human rights mean different things to different people. Because our nation has been so closed, many people do not know their exact meaning. But the film also shows that human rights are consistent with our beliefs and culture. Buddhism talks about the right to life and freedom provided we do not do harm, so these are not just big words from the UN.”

Kyaw Thu belongs to a budding generation of filmmakers who are finding their voices thanks to initiatives such as HRHDIFF, which is building on the success of the earlier Freedom Film Festival and Wathann Film Festival. These events are beginning to feature bolder line-ups each year and are providing the much needed space and support for Myanmar’s new generation of film stars. 

Yee Nan Theik’s film “Survival in Prison” was selected as the opening film of the festival as it documents the life of political prisoner Zaw Htway, who was only recently released after 12 years in jail. The film may lack special effects, but compensates by telling a direct and heart-wrenching account of life in Myanmar’s jails.

The films shows the unending brutality of prison life and the little acts of defiance that kept Zaw Htway alive. After staging hunger strikes to get better conditions for himself and his fellow inmates, he took up drawing with any material he could find. 

“I started my own art in prison in 2006. I had no experience but I had so much time and it was the only way to keep sane,” says Zaw Htway after the screening. He has a warm smile but complains of shortness of breath, his health not fully recovered after years of deprivation. Sitting beside him is Yee Nan, who says he was inspired to make the film by one of Zaw’s solo art performances.

“The film tries to be as direct as possible about Zaw Htway’s experience,” says Yee Nan. “I am not using any metaphors to hide his story. I believe he tells it best and I wanted the film to carry his voice.” 

His short film “Skyless Little Birds” on child workers in teashops was nominated in the Freedom Film Festival in 2012. 

That Myanmar can host a human rights film festival shows that the political reforms underway are taking root and that new spaces for expression are opening up. Film has always been a popular art-form in Myanmar and can help bring important questions to wider public awareness. 

As Aung San Suu Kyi notes, the medium may play an important educative role in Myanmar’s transition. 

“The effective performance of film artists is more important than ever due to the role they play in helping our people to understand more profoundly the concepts of democracy, human rights and dignity,” writes Suu Kyi, a member of the festival jury. 

88 Generation leader, Min Ko Naing is another prominent name on the jury, alongside other well-known international documentary film-makers and organisers such as Peter Wintonick, Igor Blazevic and Ally Derks. 

 

STANDING UP