This powerful Berlin prize winner mixes smartphone footage and allegorical segments to expose the trauma of the 2021 coup
The most eye-catching viral images of the 2021 Myanmar military coup come from a remarkable video where a fitness instructor performs a spirited exercise routine while, in the background, army vehicles are en route to surround the parliament complex. The surreal contrast between an everyday task and a brutal political takeover distils what’s at stake when a military junta comes to power. The mundanity of life would soon be gone, replaced by an endless parade of state violence and oppression.
Made by a group of anonymous film-makers, Berlin prize winner Myanmar Diaries begins with this famous video, threading together civilian footage of military brutality with staged, fictionalised sequences based on real-life stories. Vertically shot on smartphones by those on the frontline, these guerrilla recordings capture a collective resistance to the stripping back of individual rights.
The most eye-catching viral images of the 2021 Myanmar military coup come from a remarkable video where a fitness instructor performs a spirited exercise routine while, in the background, army vehicles are en route to surround the parliament complex. The surreal contrast between an everyday task and a brutal political takeover distils what’s at stake when a military junta comes to power. The mundanity of life would soon be gone, replaced by an endless parade of state violence and oppression.
Made by a group of anonymous film-makers, Berlin prize winner Myanmar Diaries begins with this famous video, threading together civilian footage of military brutality with staged, fictionalised sequences based on real-life stories. Vertically shot on smartphones by those on the frontline, these guerrilla recordings capture a collective resistance to the stripping back of individual rights.
- 2/6/2023
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
The festival runs July 21-31.
Alexandru Belc’s Metronom has picked up the award for best international film at the 39th edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival (Jff) this week.
The Romanian film was selected from 11 international titles, which included Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave and Mia Hansen-Løve’s One Fine Morning. It centres around a teenage couple spending their last few days together in 1972. Belc also won the best director award when the film played in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard selection earlier this year.
Berlinale managing director Mariette Rissenbeek, Hungarian filmmaker László Nemes and Icelandic director Rúnar Rúnarsson comprised the jury.
Alexandru Belc’s Metronom has picked up the award for best international film at the 39th edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival (Jff) this week.
The Romanian film was selected from 11 international titles, which included Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave and Mia Hansen-Løve’s One Fine Morning. It centres around a teenage couple spending their last few days together in 1972. Belc also won the best director award when the film played in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard selection earlier this year.
Berlinale managing director Mariette Rissenbeek, Hungarian filmmaker László Nemes and Icelandic director Rúnar Rúnarsson comprised the jury.
- 7/29/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
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