Cinema of Myanmar
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The Cinema of Myanmar has a long history dating back to the 1910s. The person who created the first silent film was U Ohn Maung (Burma's first producer and director). He is known today as Burma's "film father".
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[edit] The Start of the Burmese Film
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Burma's first directed film, a recording of the funeral of U Tun Shen (a famous politician of the 1910s who campaigned for Burmese independence in London), was captured on a second-hand camera by U Ohn Maung. It was screened at the Royal Cinema near the Scott Market (now Bogyoke Market), which belonged to a Mr Achar, a friend of U Ohn Maung. Despite its documentary nature, the Burmese people were very proud of their film, which opened with a written "Please accept our apologies for the low quality of this film".
U Ohn Maung founded The Burma Film Company to produce and direct more films. He hired U Nyi Pu(Burma's first actor) to shoot the first Burmese silent film Myitta Nit Thuyar (Love and Liquor). This film was a major success despite its low quality due to U Ohn Maung's fixed camera and incomplete film accessories. The film opened with "Burma Film Presents: Love and Liquor" but it did not mention the cast, and was based on how gambling and drinking alcohol destroyed a Burmese man's life. The story was by P Moe Nin.
Fox in America requested U Ohn Maung to send Burmese nature scenes and he got money from sending them. He also get more advanced film accesories and camera from the Kodak Company. During the 1920s and 1930s many Burmese-owned film companies produced films including A1, New Burma, British Burma, The Imperial, Bandoola, and Yan Gyi Aung. Some of the famous directors of this era were Nyi Pu,U Sunny, Toke Kyi, and Tin Pe.[1]
The first sound film was produced in 1932 in Bombay, India and was named Ngway Pay Lo Ma Ya (It Can’t Be Paid With Money). The director was Toke Kyi.Films with social issues and political themes became popular in the 1930s. Parrot Film Company produced films that addressed social issues such as gambling and police corruption that were censored by the British colonial government. There were also films that were banned like Dou Daung Lan (Our Peacock Flag) in 1936 and Aung Thapyay (The Triumph of Thapyay) in 1937. The political film "Boycott" was directed by the student leader U Nu in 1937 and starred other student leaders such as Aung San and Htun Ohn.The censors allowed this film to be shown.
Many of the films from this era no longer exist due to the lack of adequate preservation.
[edit] Cold War era
After World War II, Burmese cinema continued to address political themes. Many of the films produced in the early Cold War era had a strong propaganda element to them. The film Palè Myetyay (Tear of Pearl), produced in the wake of the Kuomintang invasion of Burma in the 1950s, highlighted the importance of the armed forces or Tatmadaw to the country. Ludu Aung Than (The People Win Through) featured anti-Communist propaganda. The script was written by U Nu who served as Prime Minister during the 1950s. [2]
The famous film maker and author U Thu Kha started producing films during this period. His most famous film is Bawa Thanthaya (The Life Cycle). Burma held its first Academy Awards in 1952. Starting with the Socialist era in 1962 there was strict censorship and control of film scripts.
The actor Kyaw Hein became the most well-known Burmese actor.
[edit] Recent history
In the era that followed the political events of 1988, the film industry has been increasingly controlled by the government. After the 1989 move by the government to open up the economy, the movie industry was privatized. The film company Mingalar became the most powerful company in the industry. Film stars who had been involved in the political activities of the 1980s and 1990s such as Aung Lwin and Tun Wai were banned from appearing in films. The films of some directors such as Win Pe have also been banned. The government issues strict rules on censorship and largely determines who produces films as well as who gets academy awards. [3]
Over the years, the movie industry has also shifted to producing many lower budget films that are distributed cheaply as video tapes and CDs. These serve as substitutes for the lack of television and cable broadcasting in Myanmar.
Most of the movies produced nowadays are comedies. [4]
The novel Thway (Blood) by Ma Ma Lei was also made into a film in a joint Japanese-Myanmar production during the last decade. [5]
Kyi Soe Tun is a veteran filmmaker has who has made 34 movies in his 25-year career and who also serves as the chairman of the Myanmar Motion Picture Association.
[edit] Films
- The Akha Way (1999) (short)
[edit] References
- Charney, Michael (forthcoming) "Ludu Aung Than: Nu's Burma and the Cold War," in Christopher Goscha (ed.), Culture of the Cold War.
- Hunter, Edward (1957) The People Win Through: a play by U Nu (New York: Taplinger Publishing Co).
History of Burmese Film by the Burmese Film Association.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Aung Zaw, "Celluloid Disillusions," Irrawaddy, vol. 12, no. 3, March 2004, is the source of these facts regarding the early history; the article doesn't provide citations, but most of the material probably comes from a volume in the Burmese language published to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of cinema in the country.
- ^ Charney, forthcoming
- ^ Aung Zaw, "Celluloid Disillusions," Irrawaddy, vol. 12, no. 3, March 2004
- ^ Kyi Soe Tun quoted in the Bangkok Post, August 11, 2006
- ^ Irrawaddy, August 11, 2006
[edit] External links
- Film scripts in Burmese for some Burmese films, Minlouthamya Kyeinate [Do what you'd like], Be Bagyi Yeilou Mami [So Beautiful It Can't Be Painted], Sonyei Zatlan [Water Going Up-River]
- Myanmar film festival in Thailand
- Hollywood representations of Burma
