Time: 16.00 – Saturday October 3, 2015
Cinema 4
Screening with: Demons of the New Freedom
28 min
Italy 2015
Burmese with English subtitles
Presenter Laetitia Schoofs
A schoolteacher, a shaman, and a Buddhist monk take part to a young gay couple’s struggle between love and fear, supporting the preparations for their unauthorized wedding ceremony in a remote village in the heart of Myanmar’s military regime. For the betrothed couple and for the monk, the main focus of the ceremony is to celebrate love, regardless of any restriction, determined by the secular regulations of the regime. They are aware of the risk of repercussions, but they want to go forward without letting fear prevent a chance for happiness. For Myo Nyunt and Thet Hta Swe, the ceremony has a particular relevance for the empowerment of the gay community, and is a key moment in their activities to bring political change in Burmese society. The characters reveal the complexity of Burmese spirituality and syncretic culture, where Buddhism meets the ancient animistic belief of the Nats and astrological practices of divination. Isolation, and the attempts to overcome its effects, play a significant role in this story. For over 60 years Myanmar has been under a number of regimes, and cultural isolation has been part of the strategies of many of them. Myo and Thet struggle for education, freedom of expression and civil rights, in a rural enclave with no phone lines or running water.
Directors: Nicola Grignani, Valeria Testagrossa, Andrea Zambelli – Producer: Enrico Pacciani