Metro
‘Myanmar Diaries’ Picked up by Autlook Filmsales
Austria-based company Autlook Filmsales has picked up world gross sales rights to “Myanmar Diaries,” one of many first movies to be chosen for the Berlin movie pageant’s Panorama part.
The image is Autlook’s solely new title for the net version of the European Movie Market.
“Diaries” was made by nameless group of filmmakers calling themselves the Myanmar Movie Collective and was backed by Zindoc of The Netherlands. The members of the collective labored in Myanmar and smuggled out footage that paperwork what has been taking place in Myanmar for the reason that nation’s navy staged a coup on Feb. 1, 2021 and deposed a civilian authorities.
Helped by the world’s give attention to the COVID pandemic, the Myanmar navy has been in a position to conduct a brutal marketing campaign to jail and torture members of the previous authorities, disband a lot of civil society and use armed pressure in opposition to individuals residing in areas the place insurgent and opposition teams have retreated.
The Myanmar navy has additionally taken management of a lot of the nation’s media, jailed native and overseas journalists and repeatedly blocked cellular and web communications. Many journalists have fled into exile or hiding inside the nation. The end result has been a big information blackout from a rustic that is among the largest in Southeast Asia and as soon as was amongst its most economically superior.
“Myanmar is a forgotten nation. This movie can change that by revealing these first-hand tales about individuals residing below the fear navy regime, that are very not often discovered coated by the worldwide media,” stated Corinne van Egeraat, producer at Zindoc.
Van Egeraat and her director companion Petr Lom lived in Myanmar from 2013-2017 educating movie and documentary pictures. Whereas there, they made an earlier feature-length documentary “Burma Storybook.”
Up to now 12 months, the corporate has produced two different movies from Myanmar: “Unhappy Movie,” as 12-minute anonymously-made quick about residing in concern and the impossibility of filmmaking in Myanmar, which premiered in Venice this 12 months; and “Letter to San Zaw Htway,” a 25-minute movie concerning the inspiring Burmese artist and activist San Zaw Htway and his resistance to dictatorship, directed by Lom. The movie premiered at IDFA final 12 months.
“ ‘Myanmar Diaries’ is an act of empowerment, giving voice to those that are standing up in opposition to the brutality of the navy and struggle for freedom of expression. Corinne Van Egeraat and Petr Lom constructed up a valuable relationship with younger and established filmmakers in Myanmar. Because of this, they acquired a particularly numerous set of journalistic, uncooked, emotional and artistic quick movies. These movies had been edited to 1 robust voice of resistance that expresses their anger, fears and hopes. An pressing look behind the headlines overlaying the latest navy coup in Myanmar,” stated Autlook CEO Salma Abdalla.
