The Women
Spring Grants 2023 - Post-Production Stage
The Maw Naing / Feature Narrative / Myanmar, France, Korea (South), Singapore, Norway, Qatar / 78 min / Original Language: Burmese / Interests: Women, Drama, Social Issues
Synopsis
After the arrest of her single-father in her village, Mi-Thet (18) is forced to move to Yangon to find work in order to support herself and her young siblings. Her new life in the big city follows a strict schedule of labour in a garment factory run by Chinese businessmen who fail to pay all the women workers for two months. At their wit’s end, one of her colleagues initiates a strike movement. Although struggling to cope with the cost of living, Mi-Thet fears the repercussions and hesitates to join the group.
At her dormitory, she gets acquainted with Ko-Tun (50s), who has long been imprisoned for being a student leader of the democratization movement. Sensing Mi- Thet’s fear, Ko-Tun introduces her to revolutionary books and tells her stories of Myanmar’s history of suppression and uprising. She becomes more mature both intellectually and emotionally and eagerly rejoins her fellow workers on strike. But the factory bosses have other ideas that would lead to violent consequences.
Credits
- Director
- The Maw Naing
- Screenwriter
- Youngjeong Oh
- Producer
- The Maw Naing, Youngjeong Oh, Jeremy Chua, Charlotte Guénin, Ingrid Lill Høgtun, Jean-Baptiste Bailly-Maître, Linda Bolstad Strønen, Marie Fuglestein Lægreid
- Production Company
- One Point Zero, Massala, Plus Point One, Potocol, Duo Films, Alpha Violet Production
About the Director
The Maw Naing was born in 1971 in Myanmar, where he lives and works. He studied filmmaking at Yangon Film School in 2005 and FAMU Prague in 2008. He is also a poet and artist. He published six poem books and did seven solo and several group exhibitions. His short film 'Again and Again' ( 2005) is based on one of his poems. It won the Special Mention Prize at Zebra Poetry IFF in Berlin. His other short film 'Between the Pages' (2010) is in the permanent collection at the Fukuoka Museum. He co-directed the documentary 'Nargis: When Time Stopped Breathing' (2011, Myanmar & Germany), which was shown at festivals including CPH: DOX and IDFA, and won three prizes. The Maw Naing's debut feature film 'The Monk' (2014, Myanmar & Czech) premiered at Karlovy Vary and has been screened at over 45 international film festivals. It has won three prizes, including a NETPAC Award.
Contacts
-
Main Contact
The Maw Naing
- Company:
- One Point Zero
- Email:
- themawnaing71@gmail.com, onepointzerofilm@gmail.com