Poet Mae Yway (photo credit: Dana Lixenberg)
BURMA STORYBOOK by Petr Lom + Corinne van Egeraat
(81 min, color, The Netherlands, 2017, World premiere)
BURMA STORYBOOK taps into a country emerging from years of dictatorship through the stories and poems of Burmese poets. Myanmar, on the cusp of change, is still an open wound. Poetry, the most popular art form in Myanmar, is used to express both memories of pain and how to adapt to a fast-changing culture. The lyrical words of the Burmese poets parallel the strong visual images filmmakers Petr Lom and Corinne van Egeraat bring to the screen.
Maung Aung Pwint, the country’s most famous dissident poet alive today, waits for his long-lost son to return home after himself spending years in prison for for his writings and activism. Having inspired fellow prisoners and younger generations to take up the pen he preserves the legacy of Burmese poetry. Young poet Mae Yway, who joins Petr and Corinne in Rotterdam for IFFR, reflects a new generation of poets who use their words not only as an art form but as a call for activism.
Press & industry screenings:
Fri, Jan 27, 9:00 at Cinerama 4
Thu, Feb 2, 8:00 at Pathé 5
Public screenings:
Fri, Jan 27, 20:00 at Pathé 7, world premiere
Sat, Jan 28,13:30 at Kino 1
Wed, Feb 1, 14:30 at De Doelen Jurriaanse Zaal