• Burmese
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
28 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Rights-Themed Film Festival Gets Bumper Line-Up, With One Movie Banned

The Irrawaddy by The Irrawaddy
June 7, 2017
in Burma
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
A man walks in front of the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival at Naypyidaw cinema in Rangoon on June 15, 2016.  / Soe Zayar Tun / The Irrawaddy

A man walks in front of the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival at Naypyidaw cinema in Rangoon on June 15, 2016.  / Soe Zayar Tun / The Irrawaddy

6.9k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — The line-up for an upcoming festival showcasing more than 60 local and international films related to human rights was completed today, with one film failing to gain screening approval from the government’s film classification board.

“Sittwe,” an 18-minute documentary about young people affected by the conflicts in troubled Arakan State was “culturally and religiously inappropriate and should not be shown,” according to the Films and Video Censorship Board in a letter to the event’s organizers.

The Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival is due to start on Wednesday June 14 and to run for six days at Rangoon’s Waziya Cinema and Junction City.

RelatedPosts

War on Citizens: How Junta’s VPN Ban is Strangling Communication in Myanmar

War on Citizens: How Junta’s VPN Ban is Strangling Communication in Myanmar

June 13, 2024
5.8k
Myanmar Remains Dangerous Country for Journalists: RSF

Myanmar Remains Dangerous Country for Journalists: RSF

May 3, 2024
1.3k
Myanmar Junta Shuts Down Another Publishing House And Its Printer

Myanmar Junta Shuts Down Another Publishing House And Its Printer

February 2, 2024
1.3k

Expressing disappointment over the board’s decision, “Sittwe” director Jeanne Hallacy said, “Documentary films open public discourse on human rights issues, particularly on highly sensitive subjects that may not be addressed in depth in traditional media.”

Hallacy’s previous films include a documentary on human rights activist U Aung Myo Min, which was shown at the 2015 edition of the festival.

The US filmmaker added, “Banning films on human rights subjects prevents dialogue which perpetuates conflict, while sharing human rights stories contributes to considering solutions.”

The human rights film festival was started in 2013 by founder U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi and others with the goal to present a wide range of films dealing with broad themes that had previously been suppressed in Burma for decades.

No films were banned during the first three years of the annual event. In 2016, soon after the inauguration of the new National League for Democracy-led government, the planned festival opener for that year was controversially pulled at the last minute.

“Twilight Over Burma: My Life as a Shan Princess” is a love story set against a backdrop of political events in Shan State and Burma in the 1950s and early 1960s.

The Films and Video Censorship Board, then under a different name, said the film could pose a threat to “ethnic unity.” It was also held by the board to potentially harm “the image of the military.”

The board is made up of some 15 representatives, mainly from the Ministry of Information’s Myanmar Motion Picture Development Department, along with members of other groups such as the Myanmar Motion Picture Organization, the Myanmar Music Association and the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture. The home affairs ministry is also represented.

This year’s festival is set to open with “Burma Storybook,” a film about the ideas of former political prisoner and poet U Maung Aung Pwint by Dutch directors Peter Lom and Carinne Van Egeraat.

A total of 66 films are due to be shown, U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi said.

The line-up includes 52 films on a wide variety of subjects by local directors, including notable names such Shin Daewe, M. Noe, Moore Thit Sett Htoon, Bo Thet Htun Soe, San Htike and Yamin Oo.

An 85-minute omnibus movie by 14 different local directors, and an hour-long film in the Chin language are also in the line-up. The festival program includes 14 international productions, some relating to Burmese themes.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: CensorshipFilm FestivalRangoon
The Irrawaddy

The Irrawaddy

...

Similar Picks:

War on Citizens: How Junta’s VPN Ban is Strangling Communication in Myanmar
Interview

War on Citizens: How Junta’s VPN Ban is Strangling Communication in Myanmar

by Mi Ei Thinzar Myint
June 13, 2024
5.8k

Country needs urgent international help to restore free flow of information vital to survival during conflict, says digital rights advocate....

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Shuts Down Another Publishing House And Its Printer
Burma

Myanmar Junta Shuts Down Another Publishing House And Its Printer

by The Irrawaddy
February 2, 2024
1.3k

Regime media alleged that the publishing house broke the law but did not even name the book – “Mindset Revolution”...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Remains Dangerous Country for Journalists: RSF
Burma

Myanmar Remains Dangerous Country for Journalists: RSF

by Nayt Thit and Khwar Nyo
May 3, 2024
1.3k

Media rights groups mark World Press Freedom Day by highlighting Myanmar's many journalists behind bars and killed by the regime.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Short Film Opposing Junta Wins Three Awards at Int’l Film Festival
Burma

Myanmar Short Film Opposing Junta Wins Three Awards at Int’l Film Festival

by The Irrawaddy
May 8, 2023
5.7k

‘The Way’ by Lynn Lynn has so far won seven awards at three international film festivals.

Read moreDetails
A worker at a used drum warehouse on the outskirts of Rangoon in May. / Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy
Specials

2016 in Photos

by The Irrawaddy
December 27, 2016
13k

The Irrawaddy’s photographers never fail to capture Burma’s most iconic moments.

Read moreDetails
--
On This Day

The Day When Myanmar’s First Christian Convert was Baptized

by The Irrawaddy
June 27, 2020
7.2k

U Naw was ostracized for abandoning Buddhism for Christianity and he died in obscurity but his baptism is still marked...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Internally displaced persons arrive by boat in Tanai town, Kachin State. / Daw Du Boi / Facebook

Authorities Block Civilians Fleeing Clashes in Kachin State

A file photo of the missing plane. / Photo: Commander-in-Chief’s Office / Facebook

Burma Army Searches for Missing Military Plane Carrying 104 Passengers

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

4 days ago
1.3k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

6 days ago
1.2k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Defusing the Thai-Cambodian Border Row

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.