Burma VJ
Striking and haunting documentary ‘Burma VJ – Reporting From a Closed Country‘ was certainly for me the best film of this year’s Zagreb Dox programme.
I’m so glad that this film got a special recognition in the competition and Movies That Matters Award for best film dealing with human rights issues.
Burma doesn’t have crude oil or opium routes in the country, so powerful nations really don’t have any interest to ‘help’ to solve the situation there. The country is governed by a strict military dictatorship, general junta that terrorizes what’s left of their frightened and humbled population. That’s not the only country in Asia with such political situation, there are so many similar examples but the most radical.
The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) was a group of 30 Burmese reporters – Video Journalists who secretly took images of violence that happened in their country two years ago when Buddhist monks were protesting against generals’ junta demanding freedom for activist Aung San Suu Kyi (who is still in house arrest).
Photo taken from: www.kaushik.net
The whole world didn’t know what was happening there because the military is not allowing gatherings, protests and, if it happen, it’s not permitted to take some photos or footage. Burmese willing to finally show their repressive police regime, used technology and undercover with small handy cams recorded all. These films were sent via the internet and satellite abroad, witnessing the brutality and absurd of the dictatorship.
VJs’ risked life jail, torture or being just shot on the streets of Rangoon in order to spread the voice and picture about terrible thingz that happened to Buddhist monks and protestants in 2007 when they were stopped, beaten and killed.
Burma is very religious country, and many many systems are using religion to brainwash peoples’ minds in East and West, doesn’t matter which religion; but the Burmese example was a school example that dictatorships are not frightened of god or that there is something more powerful. By torturing their monks they wanted to kill the latest hope in the population.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V08EBWQLzyU[/youtube]
Additional and connective cadres are directed by Anders Ostergaard, but the biggest part of the film is consisted of scenes by Burma’s Undercover Reporters.
The film follows closest the leader of DVB (not showing his face) who had to hide himself in Thailand during the protests in his native land and run the whole thing from there. Ostergaard captured his voice and emotions while listening his VJs in the mission almost at the same position as if he would be one of them.
Film Burma VJ shows the real use and benefit of new technology, and why we should use it. To spread the truth and keep people alive.
Anders Hogsbro Ostergaard is born in 1965. Graduated from the Danish School of Journalism in 1991. Awarded Best Documentary at Odense International Film Festival in 1999 for ‘Troldkarlen’. Writer-director on ‘Tintin et moi’ (2003), and the documentary ‘Gasolin’ (2006). ‘Burma VJ’ is his latest film.
p.s. try this site on Burma VJ
